Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza has forcibly displaced over 1.9 million Palestinians, leaving families to endure winter in fragile, makeshift tents with minimal protection from the cold. Children are especially vulnerable to various health risks as temperatures drop, and families continue to lack proper access to essential items such as water, food, and warm shelter.
In the pediatric department of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) supports, the impact of the humanitarian catastrophe on children's health is evident. MSF teams in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are treating newborns and premature babies with potentially life-threatening respiratory infections, dehydration, and other complications. From October 2024 to December 2024, the NICU has admitted 325 infants.
Lack of shelter is deadly for babies
On December 25, three babies, all under 1 month of age, were brought dead on arrival to Nasser Hospital, after dying from the cold temperatures, according to the Ministry of Health.
These children were living in tents in Al Mawasi, southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced by the Israeli forces and live in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions. With winter setting in, conditions in the area have become unbearable for those living in worn-out tents, which barely keep out the winter rain. Most families cannot afford the means to stay warm, including firewood, gas, or even warm blankets, which can cost up to $200 when available in local Gazan markets.
Life in the death trap that is Gaza
Read more“Last winter, although people were already displaced and the conditions were harsh, there were still some buildings to take shelter in,” says MSF emergency coordinator Pascale Coissard. “Today, after 14 months of war and the destruction of infrastructure, most people in Gaza are living in tents that barely isolate the cold wind and rain. Just in the past 12 hours, the rain hasn’t stopped.”
“The exceptional conditions we have gone through in the past 14 months, as well as now with the drop in temperatures further deteriorating living conditions in the worn-out tents, have made these kids more prone to hypothermia,” says Dr. Mohammad Abu Tayyem, MSF pediatrician at Nasser Hospital.
The health needs of children are so high that the pediatric department, including the NICU have been operating beyond its bed capacity since July, with around 25 beds occupied. Over a quarter of the patients in the department are admitted for respiratory distress syndrome, a condition that can present in premature infants, making them even more vulnerable in dire living conditions many face in Gaza.
"Even before their lives have started outside the womb, babies are at risk of disease and death," says Coissard. "Once born, babies face immediate and extreme challenges: displaced in the cold of winter, without adequate access to warmth, shelter, or health care, as Israel continues to bomb Gaza and restrict essential supplies from entering the Strip. The looting of aid trucks within the enclave is making it difficult for the small amount of aid allowed in by Israeli authorities to reach those in need.”
An immediate ceasefire is necessary
MSF’s activities in pediatric, neonatal, and obstetric care are just a drop in the ocean of high medical needs in Gaza. An immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza is the only solution to ease the suffering of Palestinians and guarantee access to health care and humanitarian aid. MSF calls on the Israeli authorities to ensure rapid, unimpeded, and safe entry of humanitarian aid at the level sufficient to address Palestinians’ needs, including winterization and medical supplies. MSF calls for all parties to ensure safe routes to move humanitarian assistance inside the Gaza Strip.
