[News] No sleep in Gaza: Swarms of mosquitoes turn the night into a new arena of torment

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 No sleep in Gaza: Swarms of mosquitoes turn the night into a new arena of
torment

Sunday 8-June-2025 - https://english.palinfo.com/reports/2025/06/08/340918/
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GAZA, (PIC)

Amid a devastating war that has entered its twentieth month—and under the
weight of siege, hunger, and the destruction of infrastructure—a new
environmental health crisis is worsening the suffering of Gaza’s residents:
an unprecedented spread of mosquitoes and insects, especially with the
arrival of summer and rising temperatures.

In previous years, Gaza municipalities regularly carried out pre-emptive
campaigns ahead of summer to combat mosquitoes by spraying swamps and
stagnant water streams with special insecticides to prevent egg hatching
and mosquito reproduction. These efforts had significantly reduced mosquito
prevalence in the past.

However, the ongoing Israeli assault since October 2023, which has
destroyed the sewage infrastructure and halted municipal services due to a
lack of fuel and equipment, has reversed this progress. Sewage now floods
the streets and homes, creating fertile breeding grounds for insects, while
municipalities are unable to play any effective role.


*Unbearable nighttime suffering*In displacement camps and destroyed
neighborhoods, “Abu Musa,” a resident of the new camp in Nuseirat in
central Gaza, says: “As if the bombing and sound of planes weren’t enough,
now the mosquitoes come to make night another form of torment. No one
sleeps. Adults and children stay awake all night because of the painful
bites.”

The man, who lost his home in the war and now lives in a tent, adds that
the current crisis brings back memories of life before 2006, when mosquito
control was a daily challenge for residents near Wadi Gaza, which had
become a health hazard due to dumped sewage.

Abu Musa recalls, “We suffered a lot. Residents would hold demonstrations
and protests in front of the Nuseirat municipality to demand solutions for
this serious problem. It wasn’t until after 2005 that we began seeing real,
effective interventions—and the issue became barely noticeable.”

He describes life in a tent as a tragedy in itself, and with mosquito
swarms appearing around sunset, “the night becomes unbearable torture. The
harsh mosquito bites spare no one and deprive everyone of sleep. It’s as if
the bombing, explosions, and hunger we endure weren’t enough—mosquitoes rob
us of what little time we have to escape reality and turn it into yet
another form of suffering.”

He adds that everyone tosses and turns through the night unable to sleep.
The mosquito bites leave visible marks on the bodies of both young and old.
“Everyone scratches at different spots, covering themselves head to toe
with blankets. But the heat forces them to uncover themselves, and the
mosquitoes strike again—and so on until morning comes.”


*A perfect breeding environment*The World Health Organization and other UN
agencies had previously warned of infectious disease outbreaks in Gaza due
to deteriorating water and sanitation services. The spread of insects is
one of the clearest indicators of public health collapse during emergencies.

The war in Gaza has created ideal conditions for a massive mosquito
infestation. Military operations have destroyed sewage networks, causing
wastewater to overflow in the streets and enabling mosquitoes to spread.
Meanwhile, tons of waste have piled up in neighborhoods, providing another
suitable breeding ground.

Another key factor in the mosquito spread is that Gaza’s municipality has
stopped spraying mosquito breeding grounds. Technicians are unable to
operate spraying equipment or extract wastewater due to fuel shortages and
a lack of insecticides.

Reports from various shelter centers—now home to hundreds of thousands of
displaced people—confirm that insects have become one of the most severe
daily hardships. There are no mosquito nets or protection screens, and
prevention tools like insect repellents and nets are scarce or unavailable.


*Health risks*The issue goes beyond annoyance and lack of sleep. According
to medical warnings, mosquito bites can cause skin inflammation and severe
allergic reactions, especially in children, and may transmit dangerous
epidemic diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and filariasis—especially
in crowded and poorly ventilated environments like camps.

Epidemiologist Dr. Ahmed Amr from Gaza universities explains, “Before the
war, mosquitoes in Gaza weren’t poisonous and didn’t transmit diseases. But
now, everything has changed. We’ve detected infectious diseases transmitted
to humans by arthropod bites, including mosquitoes and flies, which act as
vectors.”

He adds, “Mosquito-borne diseases now account for more than 17% of
infectious diseases in Gaza. What we’re seeing in displacement shelters and
camps—stagnant water buildup, poor waste and sewage management—creates a
fertile environment for disease vectors.”

According to Dr. Amr, diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and cutaneous
leishmaniasis have emerged in Gaza during the war due to mosquitoes, and
these cases are on the rise. He notes that 83,000 cases of scabies, 48,000
cases of skin rashes, and 7,300 cases of chickenpox have been recorded.


*Urgent appeals*As the crisis worsens, Gaza municipalities and activists
have issued emergency appeals to international and humanitarian
organizations to provide environmentally safe insecticides and restore
minimum levels of sanitation and wastewater services.

Husni Mehanna, spokesperson for Gaza’s municipality, confirms that the city
is experiencing a real crisis due to a lack of resources, lost equipment,
and Israel’s refusal to allow heavy machinery into Gaza. This has led to
over 170,000 tons of waste accumulating in random sites and temporary
stations, with no ability to transport or process it—alongside the
inability to drain sewage.

Mehanna explains that mosquito control used to involve three methods:
mechanical, biological, and chemical treatment. These methods targeted
mosquitoes at all stages of their life cycle. Mechanical treatment involved
eliminating stagnant water in rainwater collection ponds, and thus
targeting the eggs—a process that is now impossible since Israel bombed the
sewage infrastructure.

Biological treatment used to involve bio-insecticides, which Israel now
prohibits from entering Gaza. Chemical treatment targets adult flying
mosquitoes using fogging devices and hand sprayers, typically applied
outdoors in the evening—now rendered impossible due to the spread of
displacement camps in open areas.
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