Gaza father grieves after Israeli strike kills teen searching for firewood as winter hardship deepens

At Shifa Hospital, Yusuf Zawara clutched the body of his 15-year-old son, Mohammad, calling his name and refusing to accept that the teenager was gone. Mohammad and his 13-year-old cousin were killed in an Israeli strike, relatives said, as the boys searched for firewood — a daily necessity for families living without reliable power and heating in the Gaza Strip’s winter cold. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/74042f3a8f549e726d7f29159a64d335?utm_source=openai))

The strike hit near an area Palestinians described as safer, close to a demarcation line separating Israeli-controlled zones from the rest of Gaza. A relative said the boys were targeted, while the Israeli military denied that claim and said it struck militants it accused of planting explosives. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/74042f3a8f549e726d7f29159a64d335?utm_source=openai))

The deaths come as Gaza’s humanitarian situation remains severe. Central electricity has been largely absent since the early days of the war, pushing many residents into tents or damaged buildings and making cooking and warmth dependent on scavenged wood or scarce fuel. With temperatures dropping at night, families have struggled to find adequate blankets and winter clothing. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/74042f3a8f549e726d7f29159a64d335?utm_source=openai))

Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported hundreds of deaths by Israeli fire since a ceasefire took hold in October, and also reported child deaths linked to cold exposure — figures Israel disputes while not publishing alternative tallies. The United Nations has separately warned about infants dying from hypothermia and described ongoing winterization and child-protection efforts. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/74042f3a8f549e726d7f29159a64d335?utm_source=openai))

For families like the Zawaras, the crisis is measured not only in statistics but in the routines of survival: searching for fuel, finding water, keeping children warm, and navigating shifting lines of control. The hospital scene underscored how quickly ordinary tasks in wartime can turn fatal — and how grief is now interwoven with the struggle to endure the season.

Aid groups and UN partners say they have distributed winter clothing sets for hundreds of thousands of children and installed specialized tents for child-friendly spaces, but the scale of displacement and damage continues to outpace relief. With families still living in makeshift shelters, the risk from cold, illness and insecurity remains acute even during pauses in fighting. ([un.org](https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/highlight/2026-01-12.html?utm_source=openai))