Winter's bitter cold is taking a terrible toll in Gaza. In the past week alone, six babies have perished from hypothermia and with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in tents, and temperatures expected to drop even further, the UN Children’s agency is warning more children’s lives are at risk. Unicef, like all aid agencies, says they continue to face obstacles on bringing life-saving aid into Gaza. Israel blames Hamas, accusing it of stealing the aid.

Also in the programme: Scientists claim to have detected which volcano erupted in 1831, causing catastrophic weather which led to widespread crop failures and devastating famines; and our look back at the reporting highlights of 2024.

(Photo: People pray next to the bodies of two Palestinian babies who died of hypothermia at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on 29 December 2024. Credit: Reuters/Ramadan Abed)