A twenty-seven-day-old infant died on Saturday in Khan Younis in southern Gaza as freezing temperatures, mass displacement, and the collapse of basic services deepened the humanitarian crisis across the territory.
Medical staff said the infant, Aisha Ayesh al Agha, succumbed to hypothermia amid severe cold and the near-total absence of heating, adequate shelter, and essential supplies.
Her death raises the number of children who have died from extreme cold since the start of the winter season to eight.
Health workers noted that the case reflects the vulnerability of displaced families living in makeshift tents that offer little protection from winter storms, especially as fuel shortages have left most households without any means of heating.
Residents across Gaza continue to endure stormy, rainy weather while lacking shelter, medical care, and sufficient humanitarian assistance.
Amid a severe lack of tools to recover the dead in Gaza, a man from Gaza, using primitive methods, searches through the sand for the remains of his wife and her unborn child, gathering them so he can bury them. pic.twitter.com/2gRgZu3XNt
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 17, 2026
Israeli military operations continued across several areas of the Gaza Strip on Saturday. A child was shot and injured in the Karaj Rafah area in central Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and a young man was wounded east of the al Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
Israeli forces also detonated several residential buildings east of Khan Younis, adding to the widespread destruction in the area and further displacing families who had already lost their homes.
Local and international coverage throughout the day highlighted the worsening humanitarian conditions.
Reports from Gaza described families struggling to keep infants warm inside thin tents soaked by rain, with many relying on plastic sheets, scrap wood, or blankets that offer little insulation.
Amid a severe lack of tools to recover the dead in Gaza, a man from Gaza, using primitive methods, searches through the sand for the remains of his wife and her unborn child, gathering them so he can bury them. pic.twitter.com/2gRgZu3XNt
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 17, 2026
Aid groups warned that the combination of winter storms, overcrowded shelters, and the lack of fuel is pushing vulnerable groups, particularly newborns and the elderly, into life-threatening conditions.
Gaza’s health authorities reported that hospitals received one new fatality and six injuries over the past 24 hours.
Officials said additional victims remain under the rubble and on the roads, with ambulance and civil defense crews unable to reach them due to ongoing military activity, damaged infrastructure, and the absence of heavy equipment needed for recovery operations.
Since the “ceasefire” that began on 11 October, the cumulative toll has reached 464 deaths, 1,275 injuries, and 712 bodies recovered.
Health authorities emphasized that these figures do not include victims who remain unrecovered in destroyed neighborhoods.
Since October 7, 2023, the overall death toll has risen to 71,548, with 171,353 injuries recorded, with the majority of the asulatuies are children, women, and the elderly.
Health officials added that ninety-two previously uncounted fatalities were incorporated into the cumulative total after their documentation was completed and approved by the committee responsible for certifying deaths between January 2 and January 16, 2026.
