'If we don't die from the bombings, we will die from the diseases': Israel’s war worsens Gaza health crisis

As summer temperatures rise amidst Israel's ongoing war in Gaza, the health situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated significantly.

Thousands of displaced Gazans are living in overcrowded shelters amidst waste and sewage, facing extreme heat and minimal access to medical supplies.

With the escalation of Israel's aggression, epidemics and infectious diseases are spreading rapidly.

Since the onset of the conflict, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that at least 150,000 people in Gaza have contracted skin diseases.

Diseases include scabies, chickenpox, lice, impetigo, and other debilitating rashes.

"I'm getting pimples all over me"

Ahmad Abu Warda, medical activities manager for Doctors Without Borders (MSF), described a troubling case from a primary health care clinic: “We saw at our clinic a two-year-old girl who developed impetigo. She also caught dermatitis and insect bites from living in a tent in this hot weather,” he told The New Arab (TNA) in a recording from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

“These three conditions cause her severe itching. She can’t sleep at night and refuses to eat, which is leading to weight loss and more complications,” he continued.

Muhammad Al-Bardini, a volunteer at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, shared his personal struggle with the healthcare crisis: “I’m getting pimples all over me. Because I don’t have money, I couldn’t get the right medication and cream to treat it,” he wrote in a message to TNA.

Tanya Haj-Hassan, a humanitarian doctor with years of experience in Gaza, reported on the widespread nature of skin diseases: “We are seeing outbreaks of pervasive skin diseases. I know of one family whose children were infected by impetigo all over their bodies, literally from head to toe,” she mentioned to TNA.

Omar, a pharmacist from Gaza, expressed concern about the alarming spread of diseases: “Diseases have begun to spread in a frightening manner, especially skin diseases and Hepatitis A. Our heads have become a refuge for dandruff and lice. The temperature is very high. Honestly, if we don't die from the bombings, we will die from the disease,” he recently posted on X.

Coissard, emergency coordinator for MSF in Gaza, also highlighted the worsening health crisis: “For weeks, we have been finding in primary health centers that the main morbidity is related to skin diseases,” she told TNA.

“Scabies, impetigo, and fungus are quite widespread among children and others,” she added.

Polio threat on the rise  

The concerns do not end there; there is also a noticeable increase in other troubling infections. 

Based on WHO data as of July 7, nearly one million cases of acute respiratory infections have been recorded since the start of the conflict.

Additionally, almost 575,000 cases of acute watery diarrhoea and 107,000 cases of jaundice syndrome (suspected Hepatitis A) have been documented, with the actual number of infections likely being much higher.

Since October 7, the WHO has reported 96,417 cases of scabies and lice, 9,274 cases of chickenpox, 60,130 cases of rash, and 10,038 cases of impetigo.

Health officials are warning of a significant risk of polio spreading after a variant of the virus was found in sewage samples in Gaza. 

“These things are to be expected though they are preventable. It’s a man-made disaster,” Christian Lindmeier said, criticising Israel for disregarding its international obligations as an occupying power to ensure that the civilian population in Gaza is “as little impacted as possible.”

“That’s why we need a ceasefire, and we need it now,” he reiterated.

Gaza Strip healthcare collapse

This health situation is worsened by the severe damage to Gaza’s hygiene and sanitation systems, as well as its medical facilities, which has greatly deteriorated health conditions in the besieged territory. 

Israel has barred the entry of raw materials for washing into Gaza for more than two months. Amid Tel Aviv’s current closure of all crossings, markets across the Strip have run out of essential items like shampoo, soap, disinfectants, and laundry detergents, resulting in up to a 90 percent decrease in the availability of cleaning supplies.

The remaining healthcare system in Gaza is barely operational due to continued heavy fighting. Currently, only 14 out of 36 hospitals are partially functional, and the health system has lost 70 percent of its bed capacity, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Lindmeier, WHO spokesperson, highlighted the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system: “The impact of the war in Gaza and the Israeli blockade on people’s health is massive,” he reported to TNA.

He pointed to the destruction of sewage and water systems, overcrowding, and the extremely low availability of hygiene supplies. These factors have resulted in degrading sanitation conditions and unsafe water consumption, leading to a wide range of diseases and infections.

Mohamed Abdelaziz, medical service delegate for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) MENA office, noted, “It’s a perfect environment for different types of diseases to flourish and spread,” referring to the destroyed healthcare infrastructure, compromised public health capacity, and severely limited access to water, sanitation, and hygiene.

With the health system dramatically overstretched, Abdelaziz added, “There is very little public health capacity to fight against the eruption of diseases.”

He concluded by saying that the health system’s ability to detect disease outbreaks has also been significantly hindered by the ongoing conflict and the tight Israeli siege.

Pascale Coissard emphasised the critical issue of overcrowding in the few remaining hospitals: “The biggest problem right now is overcrowding. There’s no space,” she said.

“At one point, we saw patients lying on the floor, in the corridors, and on the stairs,” referring to Nasser Hospital, the last remaining hospital in southern Gaza. This situation is a result of the acute shortages of medical supplies and the overwhelming increase in patients that MSF teams are witnessing at the facility.

Israel's blockade deepens crisis 

The worsening health situation is also driven by severe shortages of essential medicines, food, water, and fuel, all of which are a result of the Israeli blockade.

In response to the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases, water distribution is a critical part of MSF’s efforts. However, the lack of fuel to pump and transport water is a major obstacle.

“Water desalination plants in Gaza are not fully operational due to the depletion of fuel needed to operate them,” Coissard noted.

Similarly, Abdelaziz stressed that fuel is a very scarce but “essential resource” for keeping medical services running in Gaza.

Israel’s systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid and ongoing attacks on aid operations have significantly hampered the entry and delivery of assistance.

Humanitarian staff and health workers have repeatedly come under attack, endangering their lives and further disrupting aid efforts.

A recent joint report by 14 international NGOs operating in Gaza found that over 500 healthcare workers and 274 aid workers have been killed in the last nine months.

None of the land crossings into the territory have been fully functional since October, and the north remains practically cut off from the south by the Israeli army.

The humanitarian situation in the enclave has particularly deteriorated since Israeli forces seized and subsequently closed the Rafah crossing in early May.

This closure has resulted in the restriction of main crossings and halted the movement of aid from Egypt into the coastal strip.

As of July 29, Gaza's Health Ministry has declared a polio epidemic in the region.

Alessandra Bajec is a freelance journalist currently based in Tunis

Follow her on Twitter: @AlessandraBajec