ABNA24 - Two Palestinian infant girls died Saturday from severe burns sustained in a fire that engulfed a displacement tent in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, amid a deepening humanitarian crisis that has left thousands of children exposed to life-threatening conditions and limited access to medical treatment.
The tragedy comes as Save the Children warned that medical evacuations of children from Gaza have declined by 75% compared with the first year of the war, while approximately 21,000 sick and wounded Palestinians, a quarter of them children, remain on waiting lists for treatment abroad.
Medical sources at Nasser Medical Complex identified the two infants as Habiba Zannoun, four months old, and Aseel Abu Suhaiban, six months old.
The girls were admitted to the hospital in extremely critical condition on Friday evening after sustaining severe burns in a fire that broke out inside a tent sheltering their displaced families. Both succumbed to their injuries on Saturday morning.
According to medical sources, the fire erupted in a tent at al-Nakhil displacement camp near the Eita area of al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis. A woman also sustained injuries of varying severity, while the tent and all its contents were completely destroyed.
Fires have become a recurring danger in Gaza’s displacement camps, where thousands of families live in overcrowded, makeshift tents lacking basic safety measures and protection.
The incidents underscore the dangers facing displaced Palestinians who remain without adequate shelter amid deteriorating living conditions.
Medical evacuations of Gaza children fall sharply
In a statement issued Thursday evening, Save the Children warned that thousands of Palestinian children face increasing health risks because of continued obstacles to medical evacuation, particularly those requiring urgent treatment unavailable inside the Gaza Strip.
The organization said medical evacuations of children have fallen by 75% compared with the first year of the war.
Around 21,000 sick and wounded Palestinians are still waiting for permission to leave Gaza to obtain essential medical care, with children accounting for approximately one-quarter of those on the waiting list.
The figures highlight the severe barriers facing patients who need specialized treatment outside Gaza, as delays in evacuation leave children and other vulnerable patients without timely access to medical services.
Gaza families in Egypt face growing hardship
Save the Children also warned that Palestinian families who have managed to leave Gaza continue to face significant humanitarian and financial difficulties.
The organization supports a child-friendly safe space in Cairo, Egypt, known as “Little Gaza,” which provides assistance to Palestinian children and their families.
However, the organization warned that threatened funding could force the facility to close next year, despite continued demand for its services. Approximately 5,000 people are currently on the waiting list to access the center’s services.
Since the beginning of the war, Save the Children has supported around 18,000 Palestinians in Egypt as part of its efforts to assist children and families forced to leave the Gaza Strip.
The organization said 93% of people contacting its helpline are unable to meet their basic needs, while 75% of families have no income and 90% have no savings.
These figures reveal the scale of the humanitarian challenges confronting Palestinian children and families both inside and outside Gaza.
While patients in the Strip face severe obstacles to medical evacuation and access to specialized treatment, families who have reached Egypt struggle to secure basic necessities amid widespread financial hardship and declining support.
The deaths of the two infants in al-Mawasi and the sharp decline in medical evacuations underscore different dimensions of the crisis affecting Gaza’s children, from unsafe displacement shelters to limited access to lifesaving medical care.
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