UN warns of rising infectious diseases in Gaza

The United Nations (U.N.) on Tuesday warned of rising infectious diseases in Gaza amid overcrowded living conditions and an overwhelmed health system as Israel continues to wage air and ground attacks against Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The spread of diseases in Gaza has “reportedly intensified,” according the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which pointed to the Gaza Health Ministry’s estimate of 360,000 cases of infectious diseases in shelters. A spokesperson for the Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said the actual number of cases is believed to be higher.

Cases of meningitis, chickenpox and other upper respiratory tract infections have been reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). In remarks over the weekend, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of “worrying signals” of epidemic diseases, including bloody diarrhea and jaundice.

The OCHA said the director of the Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah — located in southern Gaza — confirmed diarrhea and influenza are spreading among displaced people in the city, including 1,500 cases of intestinal disease due to food shortages.

The health crisis is only exacerbated by a crippling health system, which Tedros described as “on its knees” in earlier remarks. The WHO chief said the health system “has been reduced to one-third of what it was.”

The influx of displaced civilians — an estimated 80 percent of Gaza’s civilian population — moving into U.N. schools-turned-shelters and already overcrowded hospitals is adding to the crisis as fighting continues across the territory.

The OCHA noted that while limited aid is being distributed around Rafah, distribution in the rest of Gaza Strip “has largely stopped” in the wake of hostilities and restricted movement. A week-long cease-fire between Israel and Hamas last month allowed more aid to move into the besieged region, but humanitarian leaders have warned it was not enough for the high demand.

More than 18,400 Palestinians have been killed in subsequent attacks since Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault on Israel, the Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday, per The Associated Press.

The U.N. overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for a an immediate cease-fire in Gaza just a day prior, calling for all parties to obey international humanitarian law.

The resolution also issues a demand to release the remaining hostages — after 100 of them were released during last month’s temporary cease-fire. Hamas is believed to have kidnapped a total of about 240 during its Oct. 7 assault.

The U.S. and Israel were among the 10 countries to vote against the resolution, while 23 countries abstained.

The Biden administration has largely supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, but has upped calls for Israel to do better to protect civilian deaths and allow for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.