<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-top-anchor"></div>
<div id="gmail-toolbar" class="gmail-toolbar-container">
</div><div class="gmail-container" lang="en-EN" dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-header gmail-reader-header gmail-reader-show-element">
<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/diseases-sweeping-gaza--hitting-strained-healthcare-system-h">english.almayadeen.net</a>
<div class="gmail-domain-border"></div>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Diseases sweeping Gaza, hitting strained healthcare system hard</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Al Mayadeen English - December 14, 2023
</div>
</div>
<hr>
<div class="gmail-content">
<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><p>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.</p><img src="cid:ii_lq5p9ukk0" alt="8183a25a-3c3d-4809-8579-f1763e9d6897.jpeg" width="425" height="239"><br><div><ul id="gmail-content-slick-0"><div aria-hidden="false"><li>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. (<em>AFP</em>)
</li></div></ul>
<p>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.</p>
<p>With the healthcare system severely strained, 10 medical professionals and aid workers said, as quoted by <em>Reuters,</em> that the likelihood of widespread diseases is inevitable.</p>
<h2>'The perfect storm for disease has begun'</h2>
<p>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).</p>
<p>"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 <em>Reuters</em> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, the head of the pediatric ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said, as quoted by <em>Reuters,</em>
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.</p>
<p>Al-Farra mentioned being aware of 15 to 30 cases of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/health/unrwa-warns-of-hepatitis-a-outbreak-in-gaza-amid-israeli-agg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hepatitis A</a>
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."</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>The ongoing war on hospitals</h2>
<p>Meanwhile, as of December 10, 21 out of Gaza Strip's 36 hospitals are shut, <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/health-crisis-in-gaza-worsens-as-only-11-hospitals-remain-fu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11 are operating partially</a>, and four are minimally operational, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>She stated that two outcomes are now unavoidable.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<h2>'Practice of medicine is under attack'</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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."</p>
<p>"The practice of medicine is under attack," she said.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<h2>Childhood vaccines had been depleted</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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 <em>Reuters</em> on Tuesday.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"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.</p>
<h2>'Children are drinking water that is unfit for human consumption'</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>He emphasized that children are consuming <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gazans-at-risk-of-dying-of-thirst--united-nations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">water unsuitable</a> for human consumption, and the lack of fruits and vegetables has led to vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition-induced anemia.</p>
<p>"Children are (drinking) water that is unfit for human consumption," he said.</p>
<p>The absence of clean water for mixing with infant formula means that
babies are also experiencing hunger, according to doctors and aid
workers.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>"The children get better for two days, and on the third day they are sick again."</p>
<h2>Toll in Gaza reaches 18,787</h2>
<p>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.</p>
<p>This brings the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression to <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/on-the-65th-day-of-israeli-aggression--toll-in-gaza-reaches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">18,787 martyrs</a> and 50,897 injuries. The Ministry emphasized that a significant number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets.</p>
<p>The Ministry further confirmed that the Israeli occupation committed
18 massacres as it continued its genocidal crimes against civilians
across the entire Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The Ministry warned that the occupation might repeat the scenario of <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/gaza-hospitals-target-in-iof-aggression-amid-forced-displace" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Al-Awda Hospital</a> by
besieging and targeting Kamal Adwan Hospital, preventing water, food,
and electricity, and blocking the arrival of the wounded and patients.</p>
<p>The Ministry reminded that the occupation continues to detain 70
Palestinians from medical teams and the wounded, including the hospital
director, Ahmed al-Kahlout.</p>
<p>This is occurring as <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/communication-cut-in-gaza--no-information-about-the-north--a">internet and telephone services</a> were disrupted throughout the Gaza Strip, as reported by the Palestinian telecommunications companies Paltel and Jawwal.</p>
<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iof-turned-gaza-into-children-s-biggest-graveyard--euro-med" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IOF turned Gaza into children's biggest graveyard: Euro-Med Monitor </a></strong></p>
<p></p></div></div></div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div></div>
</div>
</div>