In Gaza, the humanitarian crisis is now coupled with a worrying health emergency. In the camps for displaced people, the proliferation of rats concerns international organizations, as hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in makeshift shelters amid waste, rubble and sewage.
According to the World Health Organization, this situation was foreseeable given the extreme deterioration of hygiene conditions in the Palestinian enclave. Damaged sewer networks, the accumulation of waste, and the lack of access to basic services create an environment favorable to the multiplication of rodents.
In several displacement areas, notably in the southern Gaza Strip, wastewater and debris accumulate immediately near tents, exposing families to increased health risks.
An WHO official, returning from a mission to Gaza, stressed the urgency of strengthening pest-control operations and improving the hygiene conditions of the displaced populations.
This alert comes in a context marked by the Israeli blockade and the collapse of essential infrastructure, which complicates the delivery of humanitarian aid and the implementation of sanitary measures.
