For 17 years, the Abu Hamad family waited for a child. When he finally arrived, the Israeli siege, winter cold and environmental collapse took him away.
Six-month-old Yousef Abu Hamad died earlier this week after prolonged exposure to bitter cold and sewage contamination near his family’s makeshift shelter in the al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
His death comes as Palestinians in the enclave endure worsening conditions, compounded by winter storms and widespread environmental destruction caused by Israel’s ongoing genocide.
Fragile life in fragile shelter
Displaced from their home in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, Yousef’s family had been living in a tent pitched near an open sewage discharge point, one of many sites overflowing after the destruction of Gaza’s sanitation infrastructure.
Doctors told the family that the infant died from a combination of severe cold exposure and dehydration, aggravated by polluted wastewater surrounding the shelter.
Since December, a series of winter storms have battered Gaza, flooding and tearing apart tens of thousands of flimsy tents that serve as the only refuge for displaced families after Israeli attacks destroyed much of the enclave’s housing.
Father’s loss
Holding his son’s small body, Yousef’s father, Omar Abu Hamad, struggled to speak.
“This child came after 17 years of suffering and waiting,” he told Anadolu. “He was our only son, among six daughters.”
Abu Hamad said his repeated appeals for baby formula and diapers in recent months went unanswered, leaving his child increasingly vulnerable as temperatures dropped and living conditions deteriorated.
Growing toll on children
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported Jan. 20 that nine children had already died from cold-related causes since the start of winter. Yousef’s death raised the number to 10, with Palestinian officials warning that more children remain at risk as shelter, heating and sanitation shortages persist.
Sewage water has flooded streets and tent camps across Gaza, contributing to outbreaks of intestinal and skin diseases among displaced families, according to authorities.
‘His body had turned blue’
Yousef’s grandmother, Um Mohammed, said the family rushed him to the hospital after receiving a late-night call that his body had turned blue from the cold.
“When we arrived, he was already gone,” she said, her voice breaking.
At the Nasser Hospital, the infant’s shrouded body bore visible signs of extreme cold exposure, according to family members.
The diarrhea Yousef experienced led to his dehydration.
Environmental collapse
The Gaza Government Media Office said Israeli attacks have destroyed nearly 90 percent of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure, including more than 700,000 meters (435 miles) of sewage networks, triggering what officials describe as an environmental disaster.
Municipalities warn that remaining water and sewage pumping stations are barely functioning due to acute fuel shortages, further threatening public health as winter continues.
For the Abu Hamad family, the cost of the collapse is painfully personal.
After 17 years of waiting, their son lived just six months.
The Israeli army has killed more than 71,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000 in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that left Gaza in ruins.
Despite a ceasefire that began October 10, Israel has continued to attack, killing 477 Palestinians and wounding 1,300, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
