Fourth infant dies of winter cold in Gaza as families share blankets in seaside tents

Ali al-Batran, a 20-day-old infant, lies in the intensive care unit with hypothermia at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — A fourth infant has died of hypothermia in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by nearly 15 months of war huddle in tents along the rainy, windswept coast as winter arrives.

Jomaa al-Batran, 20 days old, was found with his head as “cold as ice” early Sunday, his father, Yehia, said. The baby's twin brother, Ali, was moved to intensive care at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.

Their father said they were born one month premature and spent just a day in the nursery at the hospital, which like other Gaza health centers is overwhelmed and only partially functioning.

He said medics told their mother to keep the newborns warm, but it was impossible because they live in a tent and temperatures regularly drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.

“We are eight people, and we only have four blankets,” al-Batran said as he cradled his son’s pale body. He described drops of dew seeping through the tent overnight. “Look at his color because (of) the cold. Do you see how frozen he is?”

Children, some of them barefoot, stood outdoors and watched him mourn. The shrouded infant was laid at the feet of an imam for prayers. Then the imam took off his ankle-length coat and wrapped it around the father.

“Feel warm, my brother,” he said.

At least three other babies have died from the cold in recent weeks, according to local health officials.

Israeli report details abuse of hostages held in Gaza

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas militants that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250, including women, children and older adults. Around 100 are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s Health Ministry released a report late Saturday detailing what it called widespread physical, psychological and sexual abuse of people who had been held.

The report, based on findings of doctors who treated some of the over 100 hostages released during a ceasefire last year, said the captives — including children — had been subjected to “severe physical and sexual abuse such as beatings, isolation, deprivation of food and water, branding, hair-pulling and sexual assault.”

The report said one hostage described being sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a Hamas militant, and that some women reported being sexually assaulted by captors. It added: “On several occasions, captors forced women of all ages to undress while others, including the captors, watched.”

The findings, which will be sent to the United Nations, could increase pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire and hostage release with Hamas. Families of hostages and supporters have held mass demonstrations for months, and diplomats have reported progress in the indirect talks.

Palestinian woman killed at home in the West Bank

A Palestinian woman was shot and killed in her home in the volatile West Bank town of Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority this month launched a rare campaign against militants.

The family of Shatha al-Sabbagh, a 22-year-old journalism student, said she was killed by a sniper with the Palestinian security forces late Saturday while she was with her mother and two children. They said there were no militants in the area at the time.

A Palestinian security forces statement said she was shot by “outlaws” — the term it uses for local militants battling Israeli forces. The security forces condemned the shooting and vowed to investigate it.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is unpopular among Palestinians, largely because it cooperates with Israel on security matters, even as Israel accuses it of incitement and of generally turning a blind eye to militancy.

In a statement, the al-Sabbagh family accused the Palestinian security forces of being “repressive tools that practice terrorism against their own people instead of protecting their dignity and standing up to the (Israeli) occupation.”

Hamas blamed the security forces and noted that al-Sabbagh was the sister of one of its fighters who was killed fighting with Israeli troops last year.

Later Sunday, hundreds of people demonstrated in support of the Palestinian security forces, organized by the Fatah party that dominates the Palestinian Authority.

Violence has flared in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began. Israel captured the West Bank, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.

Strike on hospital in Gaza City kills 7

An Israeli strike on Wafa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday killed at least seven people and wounded several others, according to the Civil Defense, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government. Israel's military said it struck a Hamas control center inside the building, which it said no longer served as a hospital.

A strike near Nuseirat in central Gaza killed eight and wounded more than 15, according to Al-Awda Hospital officials.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said militants launched five projectiles from northern Gaza into Israel, the second time in two days, saying two were intercepted and the rest likely fell in open areas. The Sderot municipality said three people were lightly injured on their way to shelters. Rockets from northern Gaza had been rare in recent months as Israel's military increased operations there.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They say women and children make up more than half the deaths but do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel's bombardment and ground operations have displaced some 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Vast areas are in ruins, and critical infrastructure is destroyed.

Israeli restrictions, fighting and the breakdown of law and order have hindered humanitarian aid delivery, raising fears of famine, while hunger leaves people at greater risk of disease and death.

Mohammed reported from Jenin, West Bank. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.