Eight-month-old baby dies of cold in Gaza as storm floods tents

An eight-month-old baby girl named Rahaf Abu Jazar died on Thursday after her family’s tent in Khan Younis was flooded by heavy rainfall that swept through encampments across the enclave overnight, according to Reuters.

Weeping and holding Rahaf in her arms, her mother, Hejar Abu Jazar, said she had fed the girl before they went to sleep.

“When we woke up, we found the rain over her and the wind on her, and the girl died of cold suddenly,” she told Reuters about the Gaza winter storm baby death.

“There was nothing wrong with her. Oh, the fire in my heart, the fire in my heart, oh my life,” she said.

At a tent encampment in Khan Younis, some men used shovels to remove water and dirt blocking access to shelters, while others prepared sandbags to protect tents against heavy winds and rain.

“Look at this. How am I supposed to let the children sleep? Tell me how?” said Umm Mohammed Abd Elaal as she checked on her tent, which had been toppled by the winds.

“There’s nothing [we can do]. The bedding gets soaked with water, and we need two or three days to dry it before we can sleep on it again. These tents don’t protect from rain or strong weather at all,” said her neighbor, Ahmed Salem.

With hundreds of thousands of Palestinian families now sheltering in flimsy tents, Gaza’s civil defense agency struggled to cope, receiving more than 2,500 phone calls over 24 hours. According to Reuters, three buildings also collapsed in Gaza City due to the storm.

Tents and other winter supplies remain blocked at the border as Israel continues to restrict the flow of aid into the enclave.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that only 15,600 tents have been delivered to Gaza since the ceasefire began in October. These tents have assisted approximately 88,000 Palestinians, while 1.29 million people in the territory require shelter.

More than 6,500 trucks carrying essential winter supplies—including blankets, warm clothing, tents, and hygiene materials—are currently waiting for Israeli permission to enter Gaza, according to the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.

Jonathan Crickx, Chief of Communication at UNICEF Palestine, said the scale of the disaster was “massive,” warning of an ongoing health crisis as children roamed the camps barefoot. The Gaza winter storm baby death exemplifies the tragedy unfolding.

“What we’re scared of is that there is worse hygiene, and all that pouring rain could enable the appearance of waterborne diseases like acute diarrhea,” he stated.