The US says it pushed retraction of a famine warning for north Gaza. Aid groups express concern.
Associated PressDec 25, 2024
Report: Infants in Gaza Dying of Hypothermia
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Above: Children warm by the fire at the Bureij camp for displaced Palestinians on Dec. 30, 2024, amid the continuing war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. Image copyright: Eyad Baba/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Facts
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Monday that a sixth infant has died of hypothermia in Gaza, according to medical sources. The deaths have been attributed to cold weather and the fact that large swaths of Gaza's population live in makeshift tents along the coast.
The sixth baby was reportedly the brother of 20-day-old Jomaa al-Batran, who was found dead by his father on Sunday. Batran's father said that when he found the baby, his head was as "cold as ice." The babies were reportedly born prematurely and only spent a day in a nursery.
Batran's father added, "We are eight people, and we only have four blankets." Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting, and the collapse of law and order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid to the strip throughout the 15-month-long conflict.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Israel's war against Hamas is surely just, given the atrocities the group committed during its Oct. 7 attack. However, Israel must take into account the innocent civilians in Gaza who are trapped between Israel's military machine and Hamas' terrorist fighters. Humanitarian aid entering the strip must be significantly increased, and the US will continue to push Israel in the right direction.
Pro-Israel narrative
Hamas continues to use Gaza's civilian population as human shields as it increasingly converts schools and hospitals into command and control centers. Indeed, Hamas is solely to blame for the destruction of Gaza and its impact on the civilian population, as it started this terrible war with the massacres of Oct. 7. Israel will continue to pacify the group and confront its regional enemies.
Pro-Palestine narrative
It has been over a year into Israel's genocide in Gaza, yet stories of babies freezing to death hardly elicit a response from the international community or Israel's Western allies. Israel continues to ethnically cleanse entire regions of Gaza with the full support of the US.
