Gaza Between Hunger and Epidemic: A Humanitarian Tragedy Worsens Under Siege
The Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip is no longer limited to bombing, destruction, and the loss of life. It has extended to creating an ideal environment for the spread of epidemics and diseases, under a suffocating siege that prevents the entry of vaccines, medicines, and fuel, and is driving the health system to complete collapse. The lives of more than two million Palestinians have become a daily battle for survival.
The successive health and humanitarian indicators reveal that the Israeli enemy is pursuing a systematic policy of attrition targeting the Palestinian people by all means, from direct killing to starvation and deprivation of treatment and water, ultimately allowing diseases to spread unchecked.
Chickenpox: An Epidemic Spreading Under Siege
Medical institutions in the Gaza Strip have issued warnings of an unprecedented outbreak of chickenpox within displacement camps, where approximately five thousand new cases are being recorded weekly, mostly among children, amidst overcrowding and the absence of the most basic public health services.
Medical teams confirmed that the virus is spreading rapidly within the tents and among families due to the lack of quarantine facilities and the ongoing Israeli blockade preventing the entry of essential vaccines. This has led to a decline in community immunity, particularly among children born during the offensive who have not received the necessary vaccinations.
They also warned of the risks facing pregnant women and children suffering from malnutrition and weakened immune systems, as the crisis worsens with rising temperatures and shortages of medicine and medical supplies.
A Siege Opens the Doors to a Health Catastrophe
The danger extends beyond the spread of disease. The crisis coincides with the near-total collapse of the health and service infrastructure due to the continued siege and the prevention of fuel and medical aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
Ambulances and mobile clinics are at risk of being forced to stop operating due to fuel shortages, while destroyed roads hinder medical teams’ access to the sick and wounded. Most of the Gaza Strip’s population lives without clean water or sanitation services, creating a fertile environment for the spread of further epidemics.
The Rafah municipality warned of a new humanitarian catastrophe after water supplies were cut off to approximately 2,500 displaced families due to the targeting of roads and the areas surrounding the camps, exacerbating the health risks for thousands of civilians.
The genocide continues… and the numbers rise. Alongside the health crisis, the Zionist enemy continues its crimes against civilians, with the number of martyrs and wounded steadily increasing.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from the aggression has risen to 73,250 martyrs and 173,751 wounded since the start of the war of genocide. Thousands of bodies remain under the rubble and in the streets because rescue and ambulance teams are unable to reach them.
These figures confirm that the Zionist war machine is not only targeting infrastructure but also the entire Palestinian existence through direct killing, starvation, siege, and the destruction of the foundations of life.
The Annihilation of Cities Before Their Inhabitants
In a description reflecting the scale of the disaster, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor affirmed that the widespread destruction inflicted on the Gaza Strip embodies the concept of “the annihilation of cities.” The Monitor explained that every destroyed home represented the entire life of a Palestinian family, and that annihilation is not measured solely by the number of victims, but also by the destruction of homes and neighborhoods and the erasure of the human memory of the place.
This reality confirms that the occupation seeks to render the Gaza Strip uninhabitable through a combination of bombardment, siege, starvation, and the systematic destruction of essential services.
The West Bank: A Parallel Escalation
In the occupied West Bank, attacks by settlers and enemy forces continue, amidst Palestinian calls to strengthen steadfastness and confront the settlement attacks aimed at displacing residents and seizing land.
Hamas affirmed that the escalating attacks represent an organized project to impose forced displacement and break the will of the Palestinians, calling for a strengthened popular and on-the-ground presence to protect the targeted villages and towns.
A Multifaceted Aggression
The realities on the ground reveal that what is happening in Gaza is a comprehensive, multi-pronged aggression, in which the machinery of death is intertwined with siege, starvation, and the destruction of the foundations of life, in an attempt to strike at the very existence of the Palestinian people in all its forms.
With the continued prevention of vaccines and aid from entering Gaza, and the destruction of health and service facilities, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating to increasingly dangerous levels. Millions of Palestinians continue to face death from bombardment, disease, and starvation simultaneously, amidst international inaction to stop one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.