Nearly two dozen Palestinians, including kids, freeze to death in Gaza amid Israeli blockade

Nearly two dozen Palestinians, most of them children, have been killed in Gaza due to severe cold, as displaced families continue to endure harsh winter conditions compounded by the ongoing impacts of a two-year Israeli genocidal war and siege against the narrow strip.

The Government Media Office in Gaza reported that 21 individuals, including 18 children, have died across the Strip as children and families seeking refuge in fragile and makeshift tents are struggling against freezing temperatures.

The media official announced in a statement that the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza is taking a heavy toll on the local population, and stringent Israeli restrictions on the entry of basic commodities, together with multiple collapses of buildings and structures in several regions, have made life thoroughly miserable.

It held Israeli authorities entirely responsible for the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the relevant repercussions.

The office emphasized that the brutalities fall within the framework of the regime’s policies of deliberate starvation against Palestinians in Gaza and forced displacement from their homeland.

It urged the international community, the United Nations, as well as humanitarian and legal institutions, to take immediate action and provide safe refuge centers as well as heating appliances for displaced Gazans.

Civil defense and ambulance services say low temperatures are severely affecting children, the elderly, and those who are unwell. They point to instances of intense shivering, significant loss of body heat, worsening respiratory conditions, and the risk of further fatalities.

Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has stated that the international community is abandoning the people of Gaza, as Israel persists in striking the coastal region despite a ceasefire that has been in place for three months.

“World leaders and the international community continue to abdicate their responsibility, abandoning the people of Gaza and enabling Israel to continue its destructive campaign unabated behind the smokescreen of a ‘ceasefire’,” the group said in a post on X.

B’Tselem reported that the majority of Palestinians are facing severe shortages of adequate shelter and essential supplies like food, water, and medicine.

Furthermore, Israel is still restricting access for medical teams, humanitarian workers, and foreign journalists to enter Gaza, even after the ceasefire.

“This limits the availability of vital care, conceals reality on the ground and prevents documentation of harm to the population,” the statement noted.

Since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect on October 10, the Israeli army has repeatedly breached the agreement, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians and injuries to more than 1,100 others.

Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in over 71,000 deaths, the majority being women and children, and left more than 172,000 people injured since October 2023. These actions have persisted despite the announced truce.

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