Health and humanitarian officials have reported recording over 360,000 cases of infectious diseases in shelters in Gaza as Israel continues its blockade of basic needs and overcrowding and sewage are overwhelming the region.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Palestinian ministry of health have reported the findings in recent days, noting that the true number is likely higher. According to World Health Organization (WHO) officials, the diseases include meningitis, jaundice, impetigo, chickenpox and upper respiratory infections.
This amounts to one infectious disease for every six Palestinians in Gaza on average. It doesn’t include infectious diseases among people who are not in shelters, with about 1.3 million of the 2.2 million people in Gaza sheltering in UN facilities as of last week, according to the UNRWA. Southern and central shelters are at around four times their capacity on average, the agency says.
Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 20,000 Palestinians so far, including at least 7,700 children. More than 52,000 people have been injured.
Many of the deaths have come as a result of Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign, with the Israeli military dropping tens of thousands of bombs on the densely-packed region in less than three months. But the WHO has warned that disease could soon become a leading cause of death in Gaza as Israel continues to block water, electricity, food, hygiene items and other humanitarian supplies from entering the region.
Disease is spreading extremely quickly. According to WHO data, between November 30 and December 10 — less than two weeks’ time — cases of diarrhea in children under five increased by 66 percent, to 59,895 cases in total, while cases among the general population jumped by 55 percent.
Maintaining hygiene has become extremely difficult, if not impossible, with the vast majority of the water in the region undrinkable and little to no access to toilets or showers. As of this week, there was only one toilet for every 486 people in shelters in Rafah, where there are over 12,000 people per square kilometer, or roughly over 31,000 people per square mile. Sewage is flowing into the streets, with all key sanitation services no longer operational.
Palestinians in Gaza have few options for getting treatment for these diseases. The health system is, in effect, collapsed, with 21 of the region’s 36 hospitals closed and the rest retaining only part of their functionality. Medicine, even within hospitals, is scarce.
There is “no sanitation” in Gaza, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in a press conference on Tuesday. “Currently in Gaza, there’s on average around one toilet for 700 children and families. Relocate families to places where there is no toilet and it’s tens of thousands of people resorting to buckets, or open defecation. And so without water and sanitation, nor shelter, these so-called safe zones have become zones of disease,” Elder said.
“I’m furious. I’m furious that those with power shrug at the humanitarian nightmares unleashed on 1 million children. I’m furious that children who are recovering from amputations in hospitals are then killed in those hospitals,” Elder added later. “I’m furious that disease is as well-armed as the warring parties, but no, it gets absolutely no attention.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.