Gaza Threatened With Epidemic Attacks Due To Military Attacks And Israeli Blockades

PHOTO OF UNSPLASH/Mohammed ILLUSTRATION Ibrahim

JAKARTA - A Palestinian health official warned of the dangers of an epidemic across the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel's war against Hamas.

"The level of water pollution used by residents in the Gaza Strip is very high," said Rami Al-Abadia, director of the basic health care department at the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

"The use of contaminated water during this week has caused a number of cases of diarrhea in children in shelter centers," he said.

Al-Abadia said people in shelter centers lacked personal hygiene tools, causing a number of skin diseases.

He also reminded piles of garbage on the streets considering Gaza produces 2 thousand tonnes of garbage every day and sanitation officers cannot work due to the massive Israeli bombing.

Entering the tenth day of conflict with Hamas, Israel continues to bombard and blockade the Gaza Strip. More than one million people or nearly half of the total population of the Gaza Strip have been displaced, the Restoration and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said.

Gaza is experiencing a dire non-electric humanitarian crisis, while supplies of water, food, fuel and medicine are running low as civilians move to the southern region after Israel ordered them to leave the northern part of Gaza.

The fighting began when on October 7 Hamas launched the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, a sudden attack on all corners including a series of rocket fire and infiltration into Israel by land, sea, and air.

The attacks were launched in retaliation after the Al-Aqsa Mosque was called Israel and as a result of the increasing violence against Palestinians by Israel.

In retaliation, the Israeli military launched the Iron Sword Operation targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

It was reported that 2,808 Palestinians, including 750 children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.