Israeli restrictions blocking shelter aid to Gaza as newborn freezes to death

The United Nations and aid groups have warned that Israeli restrictions have prevented shelter aid from reaching civilians as a one-month-old baby died due to the cold weather conditions in Gaza on Thursday.  

Humanitarian organisations warned on Wednesday that aid operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza, are at risk of collapse unless Israel lifts restrictions, including what groups describe as a "vague, arbitrary and highly politicised" registration process. 

Dozens of international humanitarian organisations face de-registration by 31 December, a move that would force them to cease operations within 60 days, according to a joint statement by the UN and more than 200 local and international aid groups. 

"The de-registration of international NGOs in Gaza will have a catastrophic impact on access to essential and basic services," the statement said. 

It added that international aid organisations run or support the majority of field hospitals, primary healthcare centres, emergency shelter programmes, water and sanitation services, nutrition stabilisation centres for children suffering from acute malnutrition and critical mine-action activities. 

While some international organisations have been registered under a system introduced in March, the statement said the ongoing re-registration process and other arbitrary obstacles to humanitarian work have left millions of dollars' worth of essential supplies - including food, medical equipment, hygiene items and shelter materials - stranded outside Gaza and unable to reach civilians in need. 

Aid agencies say the volume of assistance entering Gaza remains far below what is required and that Israel continues to block many critical items.  

“The UN will not be able to compensate for the collapse of international NGOs’ operations if they are de-registered, and the humanitarian response cannot be replaced by alternative actors operating outside established humanitarian principles," the joint statement said. 

It stressed that "humanitarian access is not optional, conditional or political”, adding: “Lifesaving assistance must be allowed to reach Palestinians without further delay."

The warnings come as winter storms further deteriorate conditions for hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza.  

The UN has again accused Israeli authorities of blocking or restricting access through border crossings, despite having shelter supplies ready to enter the enclave in preparation for the season. 

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said on Tuesday that the Israeli government has prevented it from bringing assistance directly into Gaza. 

"People have reportedly died due to the collapse of damaged buildings where families were sheltering. Children have reportedly died from exposure to the cold," UNRWA said in a post on social media. 

"This must stop. Aid must be allowed in at scale, now." 

Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that a one-month-old infant died from extreme cold in the southern Gaza Strip, highlighting the worsening humanitarian crisis amid harsh winter conditions.  

Citing medical sources, WAFA said the child, identified as Saeed Abdeen, died in Khan Younis after being exposed to severe cold during a storm affecting the territory. 

WAFA added that hospital sources say the number of deaths linked to the storm and extreme cold has risen to 13, as torrential rain and strong winds flooded tents and caused already damaged buildings to collapse. 

On Tuesday, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that a two-week-old baby, Mohammed Khalil Abu al-Khair, died a day earlier after being treated for severe hypothermia. 

Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the ministry, warned that further deaths are likely among children, the elderly and the sick as temperatures continue to fall. 

Al-Bursh said moisture and standing water inside displacement tents have created conditions conducive to the spread of respiratory diseases, while many patients remain unable to access healthcare. 

The vast majority of Gaza’s 2 million residents remain displaced, many living in sprawling tent camps along the coast or sheltering among the ruins of damaged buildings. 

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which began in October, has seen little reconstruction take place in the devastated enclave, as Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued. Israel has also continued demolishing houses and other buildings in the areas of Gaza under its control.

In July, the United Nations Satellite Centre estimated that nearly 80 per cent of buildings in Gaza had been destroyed or damaged, with little indication that large-scale reconstruction will be allowed to begin in the near term.