3 newborns die of cold in Gaza amid frigid temperatures: Gaza Ministry of Health

By Nadine El-Bawab, Morgan Winsor & Helena Skinner

Three newborn babies froze to death in Gaza overnight, bringing the total number of children that have died from the cold to six in the last two weeks, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health confirmed. 

Three more newborn babies are in critical condition as of Tuesday morning, the ministry said.

One more child at risk of dying in the coming hours is being treated at Nasser Hospital, the Head of the Department of Pediatrics and Obstetrics Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra told ABC News.

Sham Youssef Al-Shambari, who was 2 months old, died inside her tent overnight due to the extreme cold in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, the health ministry said.

Sham's body can be seen cradled by her uncles, as they show a thin piece of cloth covering her, in a video filmed by local journalist Mohammed Fayq, which was reviewed by ABC News.

Ohad Zwigenberg/AP

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Feb. 25, 2025.

Another video shows Sham's shrouded body being lowered into a tiny grave before being buried.

Two other babies died in northern Gaza due to severe cold, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

"The hospitals in the northern sector are not sufficient to provide services to citizens after returning to their places of residence," Marwan Al-Hams, the director general of field hospitals in Gaza, said in a press release.

Most hospitals in the Gaza Strip are destroyed and unable to provide the necessary treatment for people, Al-Hams said.

Hospitals urgently need generators and oxygen stations to operate intensive care, he said.

There is a long list of patients who need treatment outside Gaza and the number of patients that have been transferred to Egypt is less than 1%, according to Al-Hams.

Some medical teams have entered the Gaza Strip, but there are not enough specialists and specialists are not staying for a sufficient amount of time, Al-Hams said.

Of the six children who died of the cold, five were in the north and one was in the south, the health ministry said.

In a statement, Hamas blamed Israel for the deaths, saying it has been preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and shelter materials.

"We in Hamas demand that the mediators take immediate action to stop the occupation’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, oblige it to implement the humanitarian protocol associated with it, and ensure the entry of shelter, heating, and urgent medical aid supplies to the people of the Gaza Strip, to protect the children there, more than seventeen thousand of whom have died as a result of the brutal war of extermination during the past fifteen months," Hamas said in a statement.

The U.N. said it is stepping up deliveries during the ceasefire.

"We have been able to scale up humanitarian operations significantly with food, medical and shelter supplies and other aid during the ceasefire period and we, of course, reiterate and echo the voices that, it is imperative that this continues and can continue to the expended and made sustainable," U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Deputy Spokesperson Jens Laerke said on Feb. 11.

Over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people.

A ceasefire is currently in effect between Israel and Hamas, with hundreds of people being exchanged between the two sides, but phase one of the ceasefire deal is about to end and negotiations on phase two of the deal have yet to begin.

Israel did not release over 600 Palestinians prisoners that were set to be released on Saturday in exchange for hostages being held by Hamas, delaying their release until further notice.

The first phase of the ceasefire ends on Saturday. Hamas has accused Israel of delaying talks over the second phase of the ceasefire.

In addition to a permanent stop of military operations and all hostilities, phase two was expected to include a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and an exchange of the remaining Israeli male hostages, civilians and soldiers for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, according to the draft version of the agreement from January.

ABC News' Samy Zyara, Nasser Atta and Diaa Ostaz contributed to this report.