Four-month-old baby girl Rahaf Abu Aasi
(shown) froze to death in the Gaza Strip on January 9, 2015.
Two
Palestinian babies have died in freezing temperatures in the Gaza Strip, where
residents lack proper shelter and electricity following a devastating Israeli
war and amid a brutal winter storm.
Gaza
emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said a one-month-old boy,
identified as Adel Maher al-Lahham, from the city of Khan Yunis in the southern
Gaza Strip, died on Saturday due to the extreme cold, which has struck the
Israel-blockaded coastal sliver.
He
added that a four-month-old girl, identified as Rahaf Abu Aasi, also lost her
life in az-Zanna area of Khan Yunis on Friday.
Rahaf
suffered from bronchial inflammation, which choked her to death, Qudra said.
The
harsh winter weather has aggravated the sufferings of Gazans, who are now using
candlelight and relying on sandbags to protect their already damaged homes
against heavy downpours and flooding.
On
Wednesday, freezing rain and gale-force winds battered Gaza, where tens of
thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged in the Israeli regime’s military
offensive last summer.
Hundreds
of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been forced to leave their homes, which
were heavily flooded in the storm Huda.
The
only power plant in Gaza, which is already grappling with a severe fuel
shortage, can supply only six hours of electricity to the densely-inhabited
Palestinian territory.
Near-freezing
temperatures are also wreaking havoc on Gaza’s economy, with farmers fearing
that the bitter cold could damage crops.
Israel
unleashed aerial attacks on Gaza in early July 2014 and later expanded its
military campaign with a ground invasion of the Palestinian coastal enclave.
Over
2,140 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli
onslaught. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410
elderly people, were also injured.
Gaza
has been blockaded by Israel since 2007, causing a decline in the standard of
living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.
MP/HJL/HRB
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