A grandmother and her grandson burn to death in a Gaza tent; Angelina Jolie visits Rafah crossing

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — A grandmother and her 5-year-old grandson burned to death in Gaza when their tent caught fire, as thousands of Palestinians battle harrowing winter conditions in flimsy makeshift housing and the humanitarian crisis persists.

The nylon tent in Yarmouk caught fire Thursday night from cooking, a neighbor said.

As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli fire, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control, and the humanitarian crisis is compounded by frequent winter rains and colder temperatures.

On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The only crossing between the territory and a country other than Israel, it remains closed despite Palestinian requests to reopen it to people and aid.

Wintry weather hits tent cities

Over past weeks, cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, causing flooding, turning Gaza's dirt roads into mud and causing buildings damaged in Israeli bombardment to collapse. UNICEF says at least six children have now died of weather-related causes, including a 4-year-old who died in a building collapse.

At least three children have died of hypothermia, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. High temperatures in December were in the 60s Fahrenheit (15-20 Celsius), but dipped into the mid-40s F (6-8 C) on some nights.

Palestinians have long called for mobile homes and caravans to be allowed in to protect them against living in impractical and worn out tents. In Yarmouk, people live in nylon tents near a garbage dump.

Ashraf al-Suwair said he woke up to the sound of screaming as his neighbors shouted ''fire! fire!" He said nylon is like fuel, easy to ignite. ''We need a good place that suits the people and the children of Gaza, instead of burning to death," he said.

Actor visits Rafah crossing

Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.

Reopening the crossing, which would allow Palestinians to leave Gaza — especially the ill and wounded who could get specialized care unavailable in the territory — has been contentious. Israel has said that it will only allow Palestinians to exit Gaza, not enter, until militants in Gaza return all the hostages they took in the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which triggered the war. The remains of one hostage are still in Gaza.

For more than two decades until 2022, Jolie was a special envoy to the U.N. refugee agency. She has continued to advocate for human rights issue and has visited conflict areas, including Ukraine.

Foreign ministers say Gaza isn't getting the help it needs

On Friday the foreign ministers of Arab and Muslim countries, including Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, expressed concern about Gaza's humanitarian situation.

The situation has been ''compounded by the continued lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials," said the joint statement.

Israel has said throughout the war that Hamas was siphoning off aid supplies, an accusation that the United Nations and aid groups have denied. Last month, the World Food Program said that there have been ''notable improvements'' in food security in Gaza since the ceasefire.

The Israel-Hamas war began with the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

West Bank raids

Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.

On Friday, the Palestinian Prisoners media office said that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron. Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.

Israel's military said there were arrests made of people ''involved in terrorist activity." Last Friday, a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a young woman in northern Israel on Friday afternoon, killing both, police said. Raids were conducted afterward in the attacker's West Bank hometown.

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