The World Health Organization’s (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, voiced grave concerns on Friday regarding the growing risk of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip. He drew attention to the large number of people who have been forcibly relocated throughout the southern region of Gaza, with many families being forced to take up residence in overcrowded medical facilities. In this difficult environment, Tedros and his colleagues at WHO continue to be deeply concerned about the growing risk of infectious diseases.
Tedros said this on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. The conflict between Israel and Hamas serves as the background for these health issues. Declared a “terrorist” organization by the US and the EU, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in retaliation for an attack on October 7 that claimed about 1,140 lives, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on Israeli figures. During the attack, about 250 hostages were taken, and over half of them are still detained.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, at least 21,320 people have died as a result of Israel’s continuous aerial bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The majority of these deaths have been women and children. Tedros reported that illnesses continued to strike people residing in shelters from mid-October to mid-December. Nearly 180,000 cases of upper respiratory infections, 136,400 cases of diarrhea (with half of those cases occurring in children under five), 55,400 cases of lice and scabies, 5,330 cases of chickenpox, and 42,700 cases of skin rash, including 4,722 cases of impetigo, are among the health issues that have been reported.
Tedros said that the WHO and its partners are working nonstop to address this crisis. By improving disease surveillance and control, providing medications, and providing testing kits for early detection and treatment of infectious diseases like hepatitis, their efforts are intended to assist health authorities. They are also attempting to increase the impacted region’s access to food, clean water, hygienic conditions, and sanitation services.