The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday that the approaching rainy season is raising concerns about worsening health risks in the Gaza Strip, where the majority of the population continues to live in dire conditions.
“While we are still unable to provide the minimum amount of water needed by the population, water quality and contamination remain a major problem,” WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Reinhild van de Werd, told reporters.
The WHO says that microbiological contamination nearly tripled between January and August of this year, after analyzing more than 6,700 water samples, rising from less than 6% in January to more than 18% in August.
“This has led to a significant increase in cases of acute diarrhea during the same period, nearly doubling from about 27,000 cases in March to more than 48,000 cases in August,” van de Werd added, speaking from Gaza.
“Today, the rainy season and winter are fast approaching, and the vast majority of Gaza’s population still lives in overcrowded camps, in makeshift tents, where piles of garbage reach several meters high,” she continued.
She noted that the coming rains will flood the overcrowded camps, and sewage, garbage, and contaminated water will spread into the places where residents sleep, cook, and care for their children, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
Pests, mosquitoes, mold, and bacteria are also likely to proliferate, and Gaza’s already strained health system is ill-equipped to handle disease outbreaks.
Van de Werd emphasized “the urgent need for more permanent shelters, a sustainable water supply, both in terms of quantity and quality, and waste management systems,” as well as providing laboratories with the necessary equipment to quickly identify the causes of illness.
She explained that the entry of essential laboratory and diagnostic supplies, including reagents for testing, remains prohibited. Accordingly, the WHO called on the Israeli authorities to “allow the entry of medicines and essential supplies on a large scale, quickly and without hindrance.”
