Centered on the death of a two-week-old baby in Gaza, this commentary condemns global indifference to civilian suffering.
by Yumna Zahid Ali, Guest Commentator
How can we have heated streets for cars, but not heated homes for babies? How can we build heated bus shelters for people waiting fifteen minutes, but not for families waiting a lifetime for housing? In Gaza today, life has become a battle against the elements, against hunger, and against despair. Among the ruins of bombed-out homes and flooded streets, a two-week-old baby named Muhammad Khalil Abu al Khair froze to death. Yes… You heard that right. FROZE TO DEATH.
Is there any excuse, any justification, that can explain a baby dying of a cold in a world with central heating, charity drives, and holiday fundraisers?
We have the technology to alert a phone when a package is left in the rain, but no alarm bell rings when a child’s core temperature plummets in a city of millions. We deliver hot food to our doorsteps in minutes. Why is delivering basic warmth to a doorstep a logistical impossibility? We have weather satellites that can track a storm forming over an ocean. Do we not have the moral foresight to track the storm of deprivation gathering over a human being? We build submarines that can explore the crushing depths of the Mariana Trench and rovers that photograph the dust of Mars. But we claim it is a “complex challenge” to deliver a solar-powered heater and a tarp to a family sleeping in a rain-soaked tent.
Our priorities are not flawed; they are corrupt.
Yes! Little Khalil did not “die.” He was murdered by the policy of a blockade that values the security of a border more than the life of a child. He was murdered by a vote in a parliament that funded more weapons but choked off medicine. He was murdered by the cowardice of every world leader who calls for “restraint” while children freeze to death. His autopsy would list hypothermia, but the truth is murder by political decision.
We have air-conditioned dog kennels and data servers that never dip below 70°F. But we lack the basic humanity to guarantee that a human child does not succumb to the elements. Explain that hierarchy of compassion. Name one justification. Go ahead. Try to explain why a box of donated blankets sat undistributed while a newborn froze.
There is none. Only evil.
About the author ~
Yumna Zahid Ali is a writer and educator who spends her free time reading, analyzing literature, and exploring cultural and intellectual debates. When she’s not writing for global audiences, she enjoys reflecting on societal issues and using her voice to challenge inequities, especially those affecting women. She also loves diving into history, believing that remembering the past is an act of defiance and a way to hold power accountable.
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TAGS: opinion on baby freezing to death in Gaza, Gaza humanitarian crisis civilian suffering, moral responsibility of world leaders Gaza, political decisions and civilian deaths opinion, war displacement and infant mortality Gaza
