Nine month old Kinan freezes to death in a Gaza tent amid Israeli blockade and lack of winter clothes
The child’s name was Kinan. In Arabic, the word “Kinan” means shelter, a cover of protection or a safe hidden place. Yet on a bone chilling night in southern Gaza, Kinan found no shelter at all.
Israel has put strict limits on the entry of winter relief goods into war torn Gaza. Kinan Ahmed Rakik, aged nine months, froze to death in the cold inside a tent of a displaced family in Khan Younis. His father and a doctor shared this news. On Thursday, the doctor spoke to the news agency AFP on condition of anonymity. The doctor said Kinan died of hypothermia, which means an abnormal drop in body temperature.
The child’s father, Mr. Ahmed Rakik, told AFP that his son died after a harsh cold wave swept over Gaza through the night. He said, “I woke up and saw his body had turned blue. I rushed him to Nasser Hospital, but by then he had died from hypothermia and the cold.”
Mr. Ahmed stood outside the hospital, wiping dry tears from his eyes. He held his child, wrapped in white cloth, in his arms. He said, “I am completely numb. I cannot believe I have to hold my own child in a burial shroud.”
The child got a name that meant a cover. In the end, he got only a piece of white shroud. His name meant a safe shelter. But in the tent that his displaced family had to call home, he found no safety at all.
Palestinian media outlet Al Quds reported that Mr. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson of Gaza’s Civil Defence, confirmed that the cold killed the child. His sad death came at a time when a group of more than 50 countries and organisations has called on Israel to act. The United Kingdom, Qatar and Jordan lead the group. It wants Israel to allow urgent supplies for shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and health care to enter Gaza at once.
As winter sets in, the group has warned that many people in Gaza still have no proper shelter. It said they face a serious risk of hypothermia, breathing infections, water borne diseases and other preventable illnesses. But for Kinan, this warning came too late.
The statement echoes recent criticism of Israel’s restrictions by the US led Board of Peace and by Mr. Tom Fletcher, the UN chief for humanitarian affairs.
