UN reports 125,000 skin infection cases in Gaza linked to rats and parasites

More than 125,000 skin infection cases linked to rats and parasites were reported in the Gaza Strip during the first five months of this year, the UN Palestine Agency said Thursday.

Israel's genocide in in the blockaded enclave has caused widespread disease and the spread of rodents.

“Another crisis in the Gaza Strip. Rats and parasites are surging. Skin infections are spreading. Risk of disease is increasing,” UNRWA said on the US social media platform X.

“Hundreds of UNRWA medical personnel are treating around 400 cases a day, but they could do more if they received adequate quantities of medications,” the agency said.

“Over 125,000 cases of skin infections related to rats and parasites were reported between January and May 2026 in the Gaza Strip,” UNRWA said.

“Supplies need to be allowed into Gaza at scale,” the agency added.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 877 Palestinians have been killed and 2,602 others injured since the ceasefire declared on October 2025.

The Israeli army has killed more than 72,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 172,000 in its assault on Gaza since October 2023, according to the ministry.

Despite the ceasefire announced last October, Israel has continued restricting the entry of agreed humanitarian aid into the enclave, where around 2.4 million Palestinians, including 1.5 million displaced people, are facing severe humanitarian conditions.

* Writing by Lina Altawell