Gaza: The 10-month-long war between Israel and Hamas has devastated the beleaguered Gaza Strip, rendered an overwhelming population homeless and left the people short of several essential supplies like water, food or fuel. The landlocked territory is also short of combs, shampoo, soap, period products or household cleaning materials, causing many women to just cut off their hair.
Since the war began in October last year, waste collection and sewage treatment have also collapsed, and it's easy to see why contagious diseases that thrive on overcrowding and lack of cleanliness - such as scabies or fungal infections - are on the rise. "In the past period, the most common disease we have seen was skin rashes, skin diseases, which have many causes, including the overcrowding in the camps, the increased heat inside the tents, the sweating among children, and the lack of sufficient water for bathing," said Gaza paediatrician Lobna al-Azaiza.
Azaiza used to work at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia until Israeli tanks separated the north of the besieged enclave from the south. Like most of Gaza's medics, she has adapted and continues to treat patients, walking to work past her own ruined house, demolished by an Israeli strike.
She set up a tent clinic with the help of a small team and began treating children, but that has now expanded to whole families, most of whom have also been ordered or bombed out of their homes. The medication that is available is unaffordable - with a tube of simple burn ointment costing 200 shekels ($53).
International aid deliveries have been dramatically reduced since Israel seized control of the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, exacerbating a humanitarian crisis. Israel denies responsibility for delays in getting urgent humanitarian aid in, saying that the UN and others are responsible for its distribution inside the enclave.
"The border crossing must be opened so that we can bring in medications, as most of the current ones are ineffective: zero effect, there is no effect on the skin diseases that we see," Azizia told Reuters.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza was launched in response to Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and over 250 hostages captured. According to the Palestinian health ministry, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli assault, though Israel asserts that a third of the fatalities were Hamas fighters. Israel has lost 329 lives in the conflict.
(Reuters)
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