[News] Diseases sweeping Gaza, hitting strained healthcare system hard

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/diseases-sweeping-gaza--hitting-strained-healthcare-system-h>
Diseases sweeping Gaza, hitting strained healthcare system hard
Al Mayadeen English - December 14, 2023
------------------------------

Gaza is grappling with a health emergency exacerbated by cold weather,
overcrowded shelters, scarce food, and contaminated water, which has
resulted in a surge of infectious diseases.
[image: 8183a25a-3c3d-4809-8579-f1763e9d6897.jpeg]

   - Palestinian children stand outside their makeshift tent at a camp set
   up in a schoolyard in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip where most civilians
   have taken refuge after being forcibly displaced due to the Israeli
   aggression, on December 13, 2023. (*AFP*)

Diseases pose a new threat to Gazans as the health situation in the
southern Gaza Strip has reached a catastrophic state. Hundreds of thousands
of traumatized people, grappling with the scarcity of food, clean water,
and adequate shelter, are vulnerable to epidemics in the besieged Strip.

With the healthcare system severely strained, 10 medical professionals and
aid workers said, as quoted by *Reuters,* that the likelihood of widespread
diseases is inevitable.
'The perfect storm for disease has begun'

>From November 29 to December 10, reported cases of diarrhea in children
under five surged by 66% to reach 59,895, while the same period saw a 55%
increase in cases for the general population, as per data from the World
Health Organization (WHO).

"The perfect storm for disease has begun. Now it's about, 'How bad will it
get?'" James Elder, the chief spokesperson for the UN Children's Fund
(UNICEF), said as quoted by *Reuters* on Tuesday.

The United Nations agency acknowledged that these figures were unavoidably
incomplete due to the breakdown of systems and services in Gaza resulting
from the brutal Israeli aggression.

Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, the head of the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in
Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said, as quoted by *Reuters,* that his ward was
overwhelmed with children experiencing severe dehydration, leading to
kidney failure in some instances. The incidence of severe diarrhea was
reported to be four times higher than the usual rate.

Al-Farra mentioned being aware of 15 to 30 cases of Hepatitis A
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/health/unrwa-warns-of-hepatitis-a-outbreak-in-gaza-amid-israeli-agg>
in Khan Younis over the past fortnight, stating, "The virus has an
incubation period of three weeks to a month, so there is anticipated to be
a surge in Hepatitis A cases after a month."

Since the temporary pause expired on December 1, hundreds of thousands of
Gazans were forcibly displaced and moved to makeshift shelters, including
abandoned buildings, schools, and tents. Many others are sleeping outdoors
with limited access to toilets or bathing water, as noted by aid workers.
The ongoing war on hospitals

Meanwhile, as of December 10, 21 out of Gaza Strip's 36 hospitals are shut, 11
are operating partially
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/health-crisis-in-gaza-worsens-as-only-11-hospitals-remain-fu>,
and four are minimally operational, according to World Health Organization
(WHO) data.

Marie-Aure Perreaut, the emergency medical coordinator for MSF's Gaza
operations, mentioned that the medical charity had vacated a health center
in Khan Younis 10 days ago due to "Israel's" evacuation orders for the
area. The health center had been addressing respiratory tract infections,
diarrhea, and skin infections.

She stated that two outcomes are now unavoidable.

"The first is an epidemic of something like dysentery will spread across
Gaza if we continue at this pace of cases, and the other certainty is that
neither the Ministry of Health nor the humanitarian organizations will be
able to support the response to those epidemics," she said.
'Practice of medicine is under attack'

Academic researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
issued a warning in a report dated November 6, one month after the
beginning of the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza. The report highlighted
the escalating indirect health effects of the war over time. Two months
into the ongoing genocide, the researchers anticipated an increased burden
of infant malnutrition due to disrupted feeding and care, worsening
nutrition for mothers.

"Many of the shelters are overwhelmed with people seeking safety, with four
or five times their capacity," said Juliette Touma, UNRWA's director of
communications. "Most of the shelters are not equipped with toilets or
showers or clean water."

"The practice of medicine is under attack," she said.

The Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Wednesday that over 300 staff
members and medics from the Gazan Ministry have lost their lives since
October 7.
Childhood vaccines had been depleted

On Wednesday, Gaza's Health Ministry declared that its stocks of childhood
vaccines had been depleted. Overnight, intense winds and heavy rain tore
through the fragile tents at a camp in Rafah, causing flooding and forcing
forcibly displaced Gazans to endure a cold night on wet sand.

The United Nations is monitoring the occurrence of 14 diseases with
"epidemic potential" in Gaza. Of particular concern are surging rates of
dysentery, watery diarrhea, and acute respiratory infections, according to
a list obtained by *Reuters* on Tuesday.

Dr. Paul Spiegel, the director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, presently in Cairo
contributing to the UN response, warned that a diarrhea outbreak could
occur imminently unless more aid trucks are permitted and access to clean
water is improved. Additionally, he mentioned that the UN intends to
initiate the assessment of acute malnutrition levels in Gaza's children by
soon conducting mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) tests.

"When you have acute malnutrition, which is called wasting, people, they
die from that, but then they are also so much more vulnerable to other
diseases," said Spiegel.
'Children are drinking water that is unfit for human consumption'

Al-Farra noted that due to ongoing Israeli aggression, many families find
it impossible to bring their sick children for timely care. Even if they
manage to do so, they are faced with challenges in providing adequate
treatment due to a shortage of medicines.

He emphasized that children are consuming water unsuitable
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gazans-at-risk-of-dying-of-thirst--united-nations>
for human consumption, and the lack of fruits and vegetables has led to
vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition-induced anemia.

"Children are (drinking) water that is unfit for human consumption," he
said.

The absence of clean water for mixing with infant formula means that babies
are also experiencing hunger, according to doctors and aid workers.

Standing amid a cluster of tents near Nasser Hospital, Mahmoud Abu Sharkh,
who was forcibly displaced from northern Gaza with his three children under
three at the start of the aggression, pointed to the unsanitary conditions
in the dusty camp. He expressed frustration that despite brief
improvements, children become sick again after just a few days.

"The children get better for two days, and on the third day they are sick
again."
Toll in Gaza reaches 18,787

In a related development, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the
martyrdom of 179 Palestinians and the hospitalization of 303 injuries in
the past hours due to Israeli airstrikes.

This brings the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli
aggression to 18,787
martyrs
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/on-the-65th-day-of-israeli-aggression--toll-in-gaza-reaches>
and 50,897 injuries. The Ministry emphasized that a significant number of
victims remain under the rubble and in the streets.

The Ministry further confirmed that the Israeli occupation committed 18
massacres as it continued its genocidal crimes against civilians across the
entire Gaza Strip.

On the 69th day of the aggression, the Israeli occupation persists in
targeting the healthcare system in Gaza. In the northern areas of the
Strip, the Ministry highlighted that the occupation has turned Kamal Adwan
Hospital into a military base. The occupation forces demanded the
evacuation of the wounded and patients to the non-operational Al-Shifa
Medical Complex at gunpoint.

The Ministry also pointed out that this hospital's threat represents an
execution for the patients inside and a threat to the lives of 12 children
in intensive care due to the lack of milk and life support devices.

The Ministry warned that the occupation might repeat the scenario of Al-Awda
Hospital
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-hospitals-target-in-iof-aggression-amid-forced-displace>
by
besieging and targeting Kamal Adwan Hospital, preventing water, food, and
electricity, and blocking the arrival of the wounded and patients.

The Ministry reminded that the occupation continues to detain 70
Palestinians from medical teams and the wounded, including the hospital
director, Ahmed al-Kahlout.

This is occurring as internet and telephone services
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/communication-cut-in-gaza--no-information-about-the-north--a>
were disrupted throughout the Gaza Strip, as reported by the Palestinian
telecommunications companies Paltel and Jawwal.

*Read more: IOF turned Gaza into children's biggest graveyard: Euro-Med
Monitor
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iof-turned-gaza-into-children-s-biggest-graveyard--euro-med>*
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