A nine-month-old infant died from hypothermia on Thursday in the southern Gaza Strip. A doctor who examined the child anonymously told journalists that the baby, named Kinan Ahmad Raqiq, died inside his family’s displacement tent in Khan Yunis.
Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense agency, separately confirmed the fatality. The death follows days of severe weather and heavy rainfall that flooded tens of thousands of tents across the territory.
Virtually the entire population of Gaza has been displaced at least once during three years of Israeli military strikes. These began in response to the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
Five people, including three children, died the day after the recent flooding when a sandy embankment collapsed onto their temporary shelters. Hundreds of displaced families have since fled inundated camps in Gaza City as well as central and northern areas.
James Elder, spokesman for the UN children’s agency UNICEF, warned that the current flooding marks only the start of the cold season. He said the region is still weeks away from the official arrival of winter, describing the rain and cold as severe.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that storms affected 26,000 households by November 8. Around 65 percent of the population remains displaced in tents and temporary shelters.
Israel and Hamas declared a ceasefire on October 10, 2025. Israel has continued strikes on the territory and vowed to target anyone involved in the October 7 attack.
President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace issued rare criticism this week regarding the conditions. The board stated that Israel, which tightly controls entry points into the territory, had failed to adequately prepare for the cold weather and needed to permit more supplies to enter.
Caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the Board of Peace on Wednesday. He stated that Israel had allowed supplies, including 91,000 tents, to enter Gaza.
Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the population’s hardship. He stated that Hamas must not be allowed to exploit humanitarian supplies and equipment to rebuild its military capabilities.
