Baby girl freezes to death overnight in Gaza

A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war.

The three-week-old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza’s tent camps in recent days, said doctors.

The deaths underscore the squalid conditions, with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians crammed into often ramshackle tents after fleeing Israeli bombardment and offensives.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in.

Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing and wood for fires.

Israel has increased the amount of aid it allows into the territory, reaching an average of 130 trucks a day so far this month, up from around 70 a day in October and November.

Still, the amount remains well below previous months and the UN says it is unable to distribute more than half the aid because Israeli forces deny permission to move within Gaza or because of rampant lawlessness and theft from trucks.

Mahmoud al-Faseeh, said the tent was not sealed from the wind and the ground was cold, as temperatures on Tuesday night dropped to 9C.

Muwasi is a desolate area of dunes and farmland on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.

“It was very cold overnight and as adults we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he said.

Sila woke up crying three times overnight and in the morning they found her unresponsive, her body stiff, he said.

“She was like wood,” said Mr al-Faseeh.

They rushed her to a field hospital where doctors tried to revive her, but her lungs had already deteriorated.

Images of Sila taken by the AP showed the little girl with purple lips, her pale skin blotchy.

Ahmed al-Farra, director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, confirmed that the baby died of hypothermia.

He said two other babies – one three days old, the other a month old – had been brought to the hospital over the past 48 hours after dying of hypothermia.