GAZA, (PIC)
The child Sham Youssef Al-Shambari, only sixty days old, is not the only one who froze to death; fifteen children like her have perished this winter from the severe cold in the Gaza Strip, which is suffering from a man-made humanitarian disaster.
Israel continues to obstruct humanitarian protocols and violate its commitments under the terms of the exchange deal, all in front of a world that is powerless to provide protection or the essentials for survival in the afflicted region.
Youssef Al-Shambari stands in shock, wracked with pain as tears stream from his eyes while he carries the body of his delicate little daughter, who could not endure the severe frost. He kisses her one moment and smells her the next, looking in unbearable pain at those digging the grave for his newborn, unable to imagine that he will soon bid her farewell forever. The voice of the oppressed father seems to cry out to the silent, unjust world complicit in the crime: “And if my daughter Sham were asked, for what sin did she die in the wave of bitter cold in the Gaza Strip?”
Adults cannot withstand the cold, so how can children?
Standing beside Youssef is his brother, the uncle of the martyr child, offering comfort and embrace to alleviate some of the pain of the scene. He describes the last moments before Sham succumbed to the cold, frozen.
Sham’s uncle said that his family along with that of his brother were displaced from Beit Hanoun and resided in Hamad City. “We live in tents that do not protect from the winter cold,” he added.
He confirmed that Sham had no illnesses, and in the middle of the night, her mother woke up to breastfeed her and found her frozen stiff body (she died from the cold).
The grieving uncle continues, “We called for an ambulance quickly to Nasser Hospital, and the doctors tried to resuscitate her after conducting the necessary tests, but death was closer to Sham.”
He describes the tragedy of the Gaza Strip and what its people are suffering, “We are suffering very much; our youth are healthy and could not withstand this cold, so what about the children?”
He concludes his remarks by saying, “We live in tents, amid war conditions, and the suffering is intensifying more and more.”
Six children died due to the recent wave of bitter cold
The Director General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, stated that six children from the Gaza Strip died due to the recent wave of bitter cold that continues to sweep through the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Al-Bursh pointed out that the total number of children who died due to cold waves since the beginning of winter has reached 15, noting that hospitals in the Gaza Strip, particularly children’s hospitals, have become unable to cope with the cases arriving due to complications from the cold, due to the destruction caused by the occupation army.
Dr. Al-Bursh pointed out that Israel has not adhered to the humanitarian protocol (attached to the ceasefire agreement), including the entry of medical equipment and heating materials, tents, and mobile homes.
For his part, journalist Khalid Safi commented on this crime, saying, “In a dilapidated tent in the cold Mawasi of Khan Yunis, little Sham Youssef Al-Shambari passed away. She had not completed two months of age but completed the chapters of the tragedy written by the occupation with the blood of the innocent and the siege of starvation and torment.”
He emphasized that “it was not death alone that killed, but the silence of the world, and the procrastination of the occupation in allowing mobile homes… until when?”
Calls to oblige Israel to implement the humanitarian protocol
Hamas Movement, meanwhile, renewed its calls to the mediators of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza to take immediate action to stop the Israeli violations of the agreement and obligate it to implement the associated humanitarian protocol.
Hamas said in a statement that the death of six newborns in the Gaza Strip due to the bitter cold and lack of heating means, along with the presence of several children in hospitals in critical condition, are a result of the criminal policies of the fascist occupation government.
It clarified that Israel continues to prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and shelter materials for more than two million citizens while the international community remains silent about addressing the unprecedented humanitarian disaster that the Gaza Strip is witnessing due to the criminal Zionist aggression and siege.
Hamas called on the mediators (Egypt, Qatar, and the United States) to ensure the entry of shelter and heating supplies and urgent medical aid to the families in the Gaza Strip to protect the children, of whom more than 17,000 have died as a result of the brutal extermination war over the past fifteen months.
When will human conscience awaken?
Residents of the Gaza Strip are living through a worsening humanitarian disaster due to deteriorating living conditions, with hundreds of thousands of displaced persons lacking adequate shelter and sufficient cover. The suffering of children is worsening with the continuation of waves of bitter cold amid a near-total absence of fuel and heating means.
The Israeli war of extermination has displaced two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with no homes left to shelter them after the occupation destroyed more than 70% of the Strip’s homes.
Israel still obstructs the entry of tens of thousands of temporary housing units and tents to shelter the displaced and also prevents the entry of materials to repair partially destroyed homes that citizens have been forced to live in, even though they do not provide protection from the winter cold.
Thousands of displaced people live in the open air or in dilapidated tents after their homes were destroyed during the recent Israeli aggression, facing dire conditions that worsen with each cold spell, amid warnings of a worsening humanitarian catastrophe due to the continued siege and Israeli escalation.
Throughout the winter, more than 15 infants have died from the cold in the Gaza Strip during successive cold waves, and more may die due to the cold and lack of shelter and basic winter necessities, according to warnings from international and human rights organizations.
