A one-month-old baby has died from exposure to extreme cold in Gaza, becoming the latest casualty of a winter that has turned lethal for the most vulnerable. The child’s death brings the number of weather-related fatalities during the current cold spell to thirteen, a figure that reflects not a sudden change in climate but the collapse of the conditions needed to survive it.

Health officials said the infant succumbed as temperatures dropped overnight, amid a wider emergency affecting patients already weakened by displacement and deprivation. Medical wards are reporting a steady rise in cases linked to hypothermia, particularly among newborns and the elderly, as heating, electricity and basic insulation remain largely unavailable. Civil defence teams have warned that the cold now poses a direct and ongoing threat to children, with shelters and heating equipment in critically short supply.

Across the territory, hundreds of thousands of displaced families are enduring winter nights in tents or makeshift structures after homes were destroyed and residents forced from their neighbourhoods. Blankets, winter clothing and safe heating materials are scarce, leaving parents unable to protect infants from freezing conditions. The crisis is unfolding within the broader context of a genocidal war and a tightening blockade that continues to restrict the entry of essential aid.

Local authorities say the situation has been worsened by the continued obstruction of shelter materials, including tents and temporary housing units intended for displaced families. While a ceasefire framework formally remains in place, restrictions on humanitarian access persist. As babies die from cold and hunger, officials warn that without immediate, unhindered delivery of winter supplies, the death toll will continue to rise, quietly, one night at a time.