The spread of dangerous skin diseases among children in Gaza

 Wafaa Alwan says her child cannot sleep because of the pain caused by a skin rash that he, like other children in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, contracted as a result of poor sanitation, lack of hygiene and overcrowding.

Wafa Alwan, a displaced woman from Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, worriedly told Agence France-Presse: "My son cannot sleep all night because he does not stop scratching his body.

The child, no more than five years old, had white and red patches on his feet, legs, stomach and back when he lifted his shirt. He is not the only one in the region suffering from skin infections ranging from scabies, chicken pox, lice, herpes and other debilitating skin diseases, according to witnesses and medical sources.

More than 150,000 people in Gaza have been infected with skin diseases due to the unsanitary conditions in which the displaced have lived in shelters and tents since the war began, according to the World Health Organization.

"Words come out of the sandy ground we sleep on while we sleep," says Alwan, a mother of seven, from her tent. Thousands of families are crammed into a patch of sand near the city of Deir al-Balah.

She adds, "We no longer bathe our children as we used to. There are no hygiene and sterilization materials for bathing, washing clothes or cleaning the place. There is nothing at all."

She continues, "Even if we wanted to bathe the children, there are no clothes to change them...and medicine is not available as it should be."

She explains, "Therefore, they will inevitably suffer from these diseases," noting that she took her child to the sea so that his body could heal from the blisters, "as we used to do, but the situation has gotten worse."

She points out that "the Mediterranean has become a cesspool of sewage. They even throw garbage and sanitary napkins into the sea. The sea is no longer suitable for swimming and the smell is foul".

She added, "I have become afraid to go there because of the presence of insects that enter the eyes."

The World Health Organization confirmed that there have been 96,417 cases of scabies and lice, 9,274 cases of chickenpox, 60,130 cases of rashes and 10,038 cases of herpes in Gaza since the war began on October 7.

Scabies, chicken pox, and jaundice are particularly prevalent, according to pharmacist Dr. Sami Hamid, who runs a temporary health unit that he and a group of Palestinian medical volunteers set up through personal efforts in the Nakheel camp for displaced people in the city of Deir al-Balah after many medical clinics ceased to function.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that the number of displaced people in the Gaza Strip reached 1.9 million in March, and the number is likely to have increased since then due to the numerous Israeli military operations in southern Gaza.

The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,195 people, most of them civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on Israeli figures. The Israeli response in the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of at least 37,925 people, most of them also civilians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

In the medical unit of Sami Hamid, 43, blisters and crusts can be seen on the hands, feet, backs and stomachs of boys in the area.

Due to the lack of medicine, Dr. Hamid, who was displaced from Gaza City, rubbed them with "calamine" lotion to soothe their bodies and relieve the itching, explaining that skin diseases are caused by "the hot weather and the lack of clean water in particular," adding that their effects are catastrophic, "especially on children."

He points out that the unit receives 100 patients a day.

"Children are at risk because they play outside, touch everything and eat everything without washing it," says Muhammad Abu Mughaysib, MSF's medical coordinator in Gaza.

He explains that "the hot weather increases sweating and the accumulation of dirt, which causes rashes and allergies that, when scratched, lead to infections.

He confirms that "MSF fears the emergence of other skin diseases, such as leishmaniasis, which in its most deadly form can be fatal," explaining that "children in Gaza are already more susceptible to disease and their immune systems are compromised by malnutrition."

Pharmacist Hamid explains, "His team recently visited a temporary school where 24 out of 150 students were suffering from scabies.

Ola Al-Qali, a teacher in one of the tented schools, told Agence France-Presse, "Given the lack of water and its scarcity, some of my students contracted skin infections and the infections spread among them."

The World Health Organization has warned of the spread of other diseases in displacement camps due to lack of hygiene. Hamid says, "The toilets and water drainage here are primitive, running between the tents and leading to the spread of epidemics."

The World Health Organization says 485,000 cases of diarrhea have been reported due to worsening malnutrition.