100,000 children under five in Gaza at risk of dying from severe cold

GAZA, Dec. 12 (YPA) -Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, warned that a severe cold front could endanger thousands of displaced families living in the camps.

In a statement on Thursday, he further warned that more children, the elderly and patients could die from the cold inside rain-soaked tents.

“There has been an increase of viral infections due to the severe cold and shortages of food and medicine, posing escalating threat to the lives of children, women, and especially patients,” he elaborated.

He added that the lack of homes and tents is deepening the risk of severe cold for vulnerable groups who cannot withstand these conditions, which cause pneumonia, bronchial infections, severe colds, skin diseases, intense shivering, slowed breathing and heart rate, and can sometimes lead to death.

These conditions caused the death of the infant Rahaf Abu Jazar, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, according to Al-Bursh, who confirmed that the acute shortage of medicines exacerbates this crisis.

@E.Y.M