Gaza’s Health Ministry reports meningitis, hepatitis outbreak among displaced Palestinians

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Gaza’s Health Ministry on Wednesday reported the outbreak of meningitis and hepatitis among displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

A ministry statement said several cases of meningitis and hepatitis were recorded due to the sewage overflow and the lack of clean water in refugee camps.

“This threatens to cause a health catastrophe, especially among children,” it warned.

The ministry appealed to UN agencies and humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene to mitigate the health crisis.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,200 Palestinians have since been killed and 77,200 others injured amid a tight siege imposed by Israel, which left the entire population, especially residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala