Gaza death toll rises as Israeli attacks, winter storm compound crisis

14 Palestinians were killed and 17 other were wounded over 24 hours, with casualties transported to hospitals across the Strip as Israeli attacks continued despite the declared ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported on Friday.

According to the Ministry’s daily statistical report, 439 Palestinians have been killed and 1,223 have been injured since the ceasefire took effect on October 11, 2025, in addition to 688 bodies retrieved from under the rubble. The cumulative toll since October 7, 2023, has reached 71,409 killed and 171,304 wounded.

Health officials said Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out strikes across Gaza in violation of the ceasefire agreement, while the ongoing blockade is deepening the humanitarian catastrophe facing the population.

Winter storm devastates forcibly displaced families
At the same time, a severe winter storm sweeping across Palestine has sharply worsened conditions for forcibly displaced Palestinians in Gaza. In Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, a child was injured after a wall collapsed due to strong winds, local sources said.

Floodwaters inundated tents sheltering displaced families in low-lying areas, while other shelters were uprooted entirely, leaving families, including children, exposed to freezing temperatures. Thousands of displaced people remain stranded in streets, playgrounds, public squares, and schools, with little protection from heavy rain and bitter cold.

The crisis has been compounded by acute fuel shortages, leaving families unable to heat their shelters at night. Many have been forced to seek refuge in damaged and unstable buildings amid the widespread destruction of homes and restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation on the entry of prefabricated housing, construction materials, and reconstruction supplies.

Israeli airstrikes demolish homes across Gaza
Israeli attacks also intensified across multiple parts of Gaza on Friday. Residential buildings were demolished in Rafah, in southern Gaza, while airstrikes hit several areas at dawn, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported.

An Israeli airstrike targeted Block 7 in the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, with additional strikes reported in al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, Gaza City, the central governorate, and Jabalia in the north.

Later in the day, Israeli aircraft carried out two more airstrikes on al-Bureij, destroying additional homes. Al Mayadeen’s correspondent said bombardment across the Strip has continued without pause, killing and injuring Palestinians.

Surge in premature births, congenital defects in Gaza sounds alarm
Earlier today, the Gaza Health Ministry reported a significant rise in premature births and congenital abnormalities, linking the increase to widespread malnutrition and critical shortages of medical supplies across the territory.

Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatrics and obstetrics department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, said hospitals are observing a monthly uptick in cases of congenital conditions and early deliveries, particularly between the 30th and 36th weeks of pregnancy.

In a statement, al-Farra noted that many newborns are arriving with critically low birth weights, often below 2,000 grams. He attributed this to maternal malnutrition during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester, which impedes normal fetal development, particularly of the nervous system.

Al-Farra also highlighted environmental factors worsening outcomes, including polluted drinking water and prolonged exposure to smoke from burning firewood, which contribute to birth defects among pregnant women.

Doctors are now seeing rare and severe congenital conditions, such as tumors present at birth, malformations of the heart and digestive system, incomplete brain development, and cases where babies are born without an anus or with disconnected intestines. Some newborns die within days of birth, while others require urgent surgery or prolonged intravenous feeding, further straining Gaza’s already overstretched health system.

Al-Farra warned that neonatal mortality rates have surged during the ongoing genocide, rising from nine deaths per 1,000 live births to approximately 35 per 1,000 over the past two years. Health officials say this underscores a deepening humanitarian and medical crisis in the Gaza Strip.