A nine-month-old baby has died from the cold in a tent sheltering his displaced family in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, his father and a doctor told the AFP news agency on Thursday, November 12, as winter weather arrives in the enclave and aid groups warn that far too many people still lack adequate shelter. The baby is not named in this report, in line with Awaaz Punjab's rule of never identifying a minor victim.

Source: AFP, Nov 12, 2026

A doctor who saw the child and spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said the nine-month-old "died from hypothermia" inside his family's displacement tent in Khan Younis after cold temperatures hit Gaza overnight. His father told AFP he woke to find his son's skin had turned blue and rushed him to Nasser Hospital, but the baby had already died. "I am in complete shock," the father said outside the hospital.

Gaza's Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal separately confirmed the infant's death after exposure to extreme cold, AFP reported via the Palestinian news network Al-Quds. Al Jazeera also reported the death on Thursday, saying the baby's father said he died of hypothermia overnight in their family's tent in southern Gaza, and reported that Ramy Abdu, chairman of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, told the network that large quantities of tents, caravans, prefabricated housing units and shelter equipment remain stranded at Gaza's borders because of Israeli restrictions — a claim attributed to Abdu and the Monitor.

Source: Al Jazeera, Nov 12, 2026

A week of flooding, and winter not yet begun

The death came after days of harsh weather and flooding in Gaza. AFP reported that flooding this week following heavy rains affected tens of thousands of people's tents. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that as of November 8, 26,000 households were affected by storms, and that around 65 percent of Gaza's people are still living displaced in tents or other temporary shelter.

James Elder, spokesman on Gaza for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), warned that the flooding was just the beginning of the cold season. "It's very important to know how bad things are in Gaza. It's not yet winter," Elder said. "We're weeks away from winter, so we are getting unprecedented rain and cold."

The death was reported on the same day that a coalition of more than 50 countries and organisations, led by the United Kingdom, Qatar and Jordan, called on Israel to provide immediate entry of critical items for shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and health to Gaza, warning that far too many people risk exposure to hypothermia and other preventable illnesses — a call Awaaz Punjab reported separately on Thursday.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher has already warned there can be no more delay in getting winter aid into Gaza. Read: Fletcher's winter aid warning for Gaza

Israel's response

Responding in the context of the Board of Peace criticism of its restrictions, Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had allowed in supplies including 91,000 tents and that "Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza," AFP reported. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other over aid entry and ceasefire terms since the truce took effect in October 2025.

Quds News Network reported that the baby's death brings to 13 the number of children reported to have died from extreme cold in Gaza since last winter. That total is a single-source reported figure and has not been independently verified by Awaaz Punjab.