Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has warned that a paediatric department in Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis has been operating beyond its capacity and the neonatal intensive care unit is treating children with respiratory infections, dehydration and premature newborns with life-threatening complications, Al Jazeera reports.

MSF emergency coordinator Pascale Coissard said the onset of winter in Gaza, disintegrating tents and no other shelter for people displaced by Israel’s war on the territory has created “exceptional” conditions that threaten the lives of babies before they are even born.

“Even before their lives have started outside the womb, babies are at risk of disease and death,” Coissard says.

“Once born, babies face immediate and extreme challenges: displaced in the cold of winter, without adequate access to warmth, shelter, or healthcare, as Israel continues to bomb Gaza and restrict essential supplies from entering the Strip,” she said.

MSF called on the Israeli government to ensure “rapid, unimpeded and safe entry of humanitarian aid at the level sufficient to address people’s needs, including water and medical supplies”.