Palestinian child killed in northern Gaza amid deepening aid crisis

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian child in northern Gaza as humanitarian conditions across the besieged enclave continue to deteriorate amid restrictions on aid, medical sources and local authorities said.

A medical official at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City said the child, identified as Youssef Ahmed al-Shandaghli, was killed in the Jabalia an-Nazla area, Al Jazeera reported. The circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear.

The death comes as Israeli attacks have continued across Gaza despite a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States that came into effect in October. Since then, more than 400 Palestinians have been killed and many others wounded, according to local health authorities.

At the same time, limits on the entry of humanitarian supplies have compounded already dire living conditions for Gaza’s population. Large parts of the territory have been reduced to rubble during more than two years of war, forcing hundreds of thousands of families into overcrowded displacement camps and makeshift shelters.

Local media reported on Thursday that a young girl died from exposure to extreme cold in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. In a separate incident, the Palestinian civil defence said rescue teams recovered the bodies of a mother and her child after a fire broke out in a tent housing displaced people in the Yarmouk area of Gaza City.

The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have repeatedly called on Israel to allow the entry of tents, blankets and other essential supplies, warning that winter weather is placing vulnerable families, particularly children, at grave risk. Those appeals have so far gone unheeded, drawing increasing international criticism.

Earlier this week, UNICEF said at least five Palestinian children died in Gaza in December due to inadequate shelter. Among them was seven-year-old Ata Mai, who drowned on 27 December after heavy rain flooded a makeshift camp northwest of Gaza City.

“Ata went missing in the afternoon and, despite search and rescue efforts supported by heavy machinery, his body was only recovered hours later,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa regional director. He stressed that children in Gaza have the right to protection and safe shelter, calling for the urgent and large-scale entry of life-saving supplies.

The warnings coincided with Israel’s decision on Thursday to enforce a ban on international aid organisations operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Israeli authorities revoked the licences of 37 groups under new regulations requiring detailed disclosures about staff, funding and activities.

UN officials condemned the move as another unlawful restriction on humanitarian access, while affected organisations warned that the decision could force them to suspend critical relief operations, further endangering civilian lives.