Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza

Gaza, Dec 12: In yet another heartbreaking tragedy from the war-battered Gaza Strip, an eight-month-old baby girl, Rahaf Abu Jazar, has died after being exposed to severe cold during Storm Byron, which struck the enclave with heavy rain and fierce winds. Her family, displaced by Israel’s ongoing military assault, had been living in a flimsy tent in Khan Younis, where flooding and freezing conditions claimed the infant’s life.

According to Reuters, Rahaf’s mother, Hejar Abu Jazar, said she had fed her daughter before they slept.

“When we woke up, we found the rain over her and the wind on her, and the girl died of cold suddenly,”

the grieving mother said, describing the devastating moment the storm overwhelmed their shelter.

Storm Byron wreaked havoc across Gaza’s makeshift displacement camps, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now living in fragile tents as temperatures drop.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said it received over 2,500 emergency calls in just 24 hours, with teams struggling to respond amid a severe shortage of equipment and fuel. At least three buildings collapsed in Gaza City due to the storm.

Despite the worsening conditions, Israel continues to block critical winter supplies, deepening the humanitarian crisis. Large quantities of humanitarian goods — including tents, blankets, and warm clothing — remain stuck at the border.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) reported that since the ceasefire in October, only 15,600 tents have been allowed into Gaza, barely enough to support 88,000 people.

However, in the devastated territory, 1.29 million Palestinians urgently need shelter, leaving the majority to suffer the winter in overcrowded, unprotected camps.

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said more than 6,500 trucks loaded with essential winter supplies are waiting for Israeli approval to enter Gaza.

For families like the Abu Jazar’s, the consequences of these restrictions are fatal – with winter conditions becoming yet another threat to life in a territory already enduring unimaginable suffering.

As Gaza battles both conflict and cold, the death of baby Rahaf stands as a painful reminder of the human cost borne by its most vulnerable.