Habiba Mohammed Zanoun, two months old, and Aseel Abu Suhayban, seven months old, died Saturday morning after flames tore through a family tent in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, on Friday afternoon.
The two infants were visiting relatives when the fire broke out as food was being prepared inside the tent.
Both suffered severe burns and were taken to intensive care at Nasser Medical Complex, but doctors could not save them.
The tragedy unfolded amid severe shortages of cooking gas and essential supplies caused by the Israeli regime’s blockade, which has forced displaced Palestinians to rely on open fires and other dangerous makeshift cooking methods.
Displacement and deprivation claim more lives
The girls’ grandmother told Anadolu that her daughter had visited the family when the fire suddenly erupted.
Habiba was supposed to receive her two-month vaccinations on Saturday, but instead her family was preparing to bury her.
Aseel’s mother desperately tried to rescue her daughter and also suffered burns, requiring hospital treatment.
Grieving the two children, the grandmother described the relentless dangers confronting Palestinians under Israel’s continued assault and siege.
“Why is all this happening to us?” she asked. “Every day there are accidents, bombings and fires, and people are dying in so many ways.”
“For three years, we have been living like this, amid displacement, anguish and pain.”
The fire was one of three reported incidents involving displacement tents in central and southern Gaza on Friday.
Israeli restrictions deepen humanitarian catastrophe
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in June that cooking inside displacement tents was a leading cause of fires.
Makeshift shelters constructed from blankets, old fabrics, cardboard and plastic sheeting are highly vulnerable to flames, leaving displaced families with little protection against preventable disasters.
Meanwhile, Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian supplies have further undermined efforts to provide adequate shelter.
OCHA reported that Israeli authorities denied entry on Aug. 26 and Sept. 2 to a previously approved shipment through the Egyptian corridor containing 36,960 pieces of timber and 660 emergency shelter kits.
The Gaza Government Media Office has estimated that more than 800,000 displaced Palestinians are living in tents unfit for human habitation, with 162,000 of the territory’s 270,000 displacement tents requiring immediate replacement.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s claims and diplomatic posturing over Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe continues, while Washington's support for the Israeli regime leaves Palestinians facing the devastating consequences of occupation, blockade and the ongoing genocide.
The girls’ grandmother appealed to the international community to pay attention to the suffering of displaced Palestinians and take action to end their ordeal.