A Palestinian Ministry of Health official in the Gaza Strip has warned of an outbreak of epidemics and infectious diseases among the population, after recording 553,000 cases of infectious and epidemic diseases since last October. This includes more than 8,000 cases of Hepatitis A infection.
Dr. Rami Haider Al-Abadla, Deputy Director General of Primary Health Care in Gaza, in his talk to “Sky News Arabia,” attributed the spread of epidemic diseases to overcrowding among the displaced, poor levels of cleanliness, non-potable water, scarcity of medicines, food shortages, and the continuation of Israeli attacks since October 7.
Regarding the recorded cases, Al-Abadla mentioned:
553,000 cases of epidemic and infectious diseases were registered by the Ministry of Health from October 28 last year to January 8.
The Ministry started epidemiological monitoring from various parts of the Gaza Strip from October 24 to January 8, but monitoring data began to decline due to Israeli attacks and the destruction of many primary care centers. Currently, data collection is ongoing from Rafah government clinics and shelters run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Data collection faces significant difficulties due to the destruction of computing programs, communication disruptions, and severe congestion in clinics.
In explaining the types of diseases and epidemics, Al-Abadla added:
234,364 cases of pneumonia.
170,794 cases of diarrhea.
140,000 skin diseases.
More than 8,000 cases of Hepatitis A infection, including 6,723 cases in children.
Additionally, there are cases of measles and other infectious diseases.
Risk Factors:
Severe overcrowding in shelters, with 3-5 thousand displaced people in each center, and about 50 people per room.
Overcrowding in houses that are still inhabited, as well as in tents.
Shortage of potable water and water necessary for personal hygiene.
Poor and insufficient food, with most available food being canned and containing preservatives.
Lack of personal hygiene tools.
Destruction of sewage infrastructure.
Proliferation of waste in public places and displacement centers.
Inability to isolate infected individuals from non-infected people.
Lack of medicines that aid in recovery.
Lack of hospital beds to accommodate cases requiring medical follow-up, with hospitals’ occupancy rates reaching about 350%, and no places available for internal medicine treatment, as all hospitals have been converted to emergency and surgical hospitals.
Consequently, Al-Abadla called for an immediate halt to Israeli bombing, the provision of water and hygiene materials, and the reduction of overcrowding.
Thomas White, Director of UNRWA in Gaza, previously spoke about the outbreak of “Hepatitis A” at one of the agency’s schools.
The war waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza, ignited by the armed movement’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, has led to unprecedented destruction in the small coastal sector, claiming the lives of more than 24,927 Palestinians and injuring over 62,000, according to Hamas’s Ministry of Health statistics.
Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that UN agencies “cannot effectively deliver humanitarian aid while Gaza is under such intense, widespread, and continuous bombing.”
