Scabies, chickenpox, and other contagious skin diseases are spreading rapidly in the refugee camps in Gaza. More than 150,000 people have been infected since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October last year.
Wafaa Elwan's four-year-old son can hardly sleep. His body is covered with red, itchy rashes that keep him awake at night.
We lie directly on the sandy ground. There is neither soap nor cleaning products, and the children cannot even bathe in the sea because it is full of garbage, says Elwan to the news agency AFP.
Living in cramped conditions
Nearly two million Gazans have been forced to leave their homes since Israel launched its war against Hamas. Many are living in cramped conditions in refugee camps with limited access to water and toilets. Outbreaks of diarrhea, scabies, and other contagious diseases are affecting children in particular, says Dr. Mohammed Abu Maghaiseeb, who is medically responsible for the aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Gaza:
Children play outdoors and touch and eat everything without washing their hands first. Their immune system is also weakened because they do not get enough food, he says.
Heat and dirt
The heat and dirt are exacerbating the situation, as scratched rashes can easily become infected. Even impetigo has been detected in the refugee camps. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 10,000 cases of the highly contagious disease have been reported, as well as around 485,000 cases of severe diarrhea.
The ongoing war in Gaza began after the terrorist-stamped Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, when around 1,200 people were killed. Since then, 80 percent of Gaza's population – 1.9 million people – have been driven into flight. According to figures from the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 37,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks.
