FLOODING has damaged the tents of displaced families in Gaza with winter conditions worsening.
We told on Monday how babies were dying of hypothermia with Al Jazeera now reporting that at least seven Palestinians, including six babies, have died due to the cold.
This included a 20-day-old newborn as the United Nations warns Israel is dismantling the means of survival in Gaza and hindering humanitarian access.
Flooding damaged the tents of displaced families in Gaza, adding an extra layer of suffering to hundreds of thousands of people who are already displaced, often multiple times, while ceasefire negotiations remain stalled pic.twitter.com/1ugomGerLI
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 31, 2024
Footage shared by news agency Reuters showed flooding damaging the tents of displaced families in Gaza with hundreds of thousands of people having been forced to flee as a result of Israel’s bombardment.
In a statement released on Twitter/X commissioner-general of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees Philippe Lazzarini said: “Fifteen months on the war in Gaza, horrors continue unabated under the world’s watch.”
He said that more than 250 UNRWA staff members have been killed and that over two thirds of the agency’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed.
Lazzarini further added that there are “at least 20” UNRWA staff in Israeli detention centres with those releases describing “mistreatment, humiliation and torture”.
It comes as Idris Abu Safiya, the son of detained Gaza hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya issued an urgent appeal for the international community to “intervene and secure his release before it’s too late”.
He was arrested by Israeli forces during their raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital and has reportedly been taken to a detention camp.
His son said in a statement: “We urgently appeal to the international community to act for his release as he is detained by the occupation forces while performing his humanitarian duty.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safia’s family is calling for his immediate release as Israeli attacks on other Gaza hospitals continue. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital was seized by Israeli forces on Friday and is reportedly being held in the Sde Tieman military prison, which is known for… pic.twitter.com/I1uCfEHpxl
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 31, 2024
“He now suffers severe mistreatment in the Sde Teiman detention centre, including humiliation, exposure to freezing cold and denial of medical care.”
He added that his family hold Kazakh passports and called on Kazakhstan as well as all foreign governments to pressure Israel to release him.
Elsewhere, Palestinian health authorities say 45 patients and injured people have been evacuated for treatment outside the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.
They left the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis early on Tuesday and travelled through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel. They will receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates.
The patients are accompanied by over 100 of their relatives, according to the hospital.
Among them was a 10-year-old boy, Abdullah Abu Yousef, who is suffering from kidney failure. The child was accompanied by his sister after the Israeli authorities rejected his mother’s application to join him.
Israel says it screens those accompanying the patients for security.
“The boy is sick,” said his mother, Abeer Abu Yousef. “He requires haemodialysis three to four days a week.”
The Health Ministry said several thousand Palestinians in Gaza require medical treatment abroad.
Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since capturing the southern city of Rafah in May and those that remain open are only partially functioning.
