ICSPR Expresses Deep Concern Over Rising Death Toll Due to Freezing Temperatures and Harsh Conditions Facing Displaced Persons in Gaza
Press Release
ICSPR Expresses Deep Concern Over Rising Death Toll Due to Freezing Temperatures and Harsh Conditions Facing Displaced Persons in Gaza
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) is gravely concerned about the increasing number of deaths within displacement camps in Gaza as a result of severe cold and freezing conditions. In the past 72 hours alone, the Ministry of Health recorded four deaths, including three newborns: Aisha Al-Qassas (21 days old), Ali Issam Saqr (23 days old), Ali Hossam Azzam (4 days old), and Sila Mahmoud Al-Fasih (14 days old). Additionally, young nurse Ahmed Al-Zaharneh was found dead in his tent in Mawasi Khan Younis.
Over 2 million people residing in tents and temporary shelters endure catastrophic and harsh living conditions. Approximately 700,000 displaced persons live near coastal areas exposed to flood risks and urgently require winter-appropriate tents, as most tents are worn out or destroyed by weather conditions.
Families displaced from northern Gaza to Gaza City face dire circumstances due to the lack of tents, blankets, clothing, and essential aid. The cold and rain have already led to fatalities and may continue to cause hypothermia and sudden cardiac arrest if urgent needs are not met. Many displaced children lack adequate clothing, having fled Israeli bombardment without any personal belongings.
It is worth noting that tents, blankets, and winter supplies have been held at border crossings for months, awaiting approval for entry into Gaza, according to international organizations.
The humanitarian catastrophe worsens daily as Israel persists in imposing collective punishment and a blockade, depriving Gaza’s population of food, water, electricity, fuel, medicine, tents, blankets, and winter clothing. Current aid distribution mechanisms are insufficient, meeting only 6% of displaced persons’ needs.
The suffering of Palestinians is further exacerbated by the suspension of most municipal services in Gaza due to Israel’s blockade on diesel fuel necessary for operating equipment and generators to pump water to homes and displacement camps. Sewage pumps have ceased operation, causing sewage pools to accumulate around tents, while waste collection has stopped, resulting in tons of uncollected garbage – a looming public health crisis.
ICSPR fears the death toll, particularly among children, will rise as Gaza faces another wave of cold and freezing weather, while heating resources, blankets, shoes, and sufficient clothing remain scarce. Health services are deteriorating, seasonal illnesses are spreading, and medicine is in short supply, coinciding with acute famine and malnutrition. The World Food Programme can only provide one-third of Gaza’s food needs.
ICSPR emphasizes that the ongoing use of starvation, obstruction of essential aid, and the prevention of humanitarian and medical supplies reflect a deliberate policy aimed at deepening humanitarian suffering and subjecting Palestinians to life-threatening conditions, destruction, and displacement – amounting to genocide that has already claimed 10% of Gaza’s population.
ICSPR condemns the glaring international failure and double standards that allow Israel’s heinous genocidal crimes to continue. The commission records and demands the following:
1. ICSPR calls on the international community to exert serious pressure on Israel to end genocidal crimes and ethnic cleansing, open border crossings and humanitarian corridors, and ensure the flow of aid – particularly tents, tarpaulins, blankets, and clothing – to mitigate the effects of winter and the unfolding humanitarian disaster.
2. ICSPR urges the United Nations, international organizations, and world governments to immediately intervene to ensure international protection for Palestinians facing genocide, impose sanctions on Israel, boycott its regime, halt arms exports, and prosecute Israeli leaders and soldiers responsible for crimes against Palestinians in international courts.
3. ICSPR demands that Gaza be declared a disaster and famine-stricken area. Efforts must continue without pause to assist and support Gaza’s population, meet the needs of the displaced, and protect their lives by providing urgent relief to mitigate their catastrophic suffering.
End.
