300 days of war: Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepens, new epidemics rise

Today marks 300 days since Israel waged its war on Gaza.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed by Israeli strikes since October 7 last year, according to official records.

This staggering figure is likely to change as reports suggest the accurate death toll could reach up to 186,000, or 7.9 percent of Gaza's population.

The survivors of the war live in dire conditions, facing unprecedented hardship and harsh living conditions, lacking adequate food and clean water.

Describing the situation to TRT World, Yousef Abu Rabie, a resident from northern Gaza, calls the condition as “unsuitable even for animals.”

Amid the ruins of their former homes, thousands of people share overcrowded tents under a scorching sun. Due to the destruction of the city, garbage and sewage water fill the streets, causing sewage issues, and unhygienic conditions.

“Shelters are unsanitary, leading to numerous cases of skin and fungal diseases, and there is a lack of crew or facilities to remove sewage and garbage in the streets, schools, and roads,” Abu Rabie says.

The damaged infrastructure causes sewage water to flood streets and tents, creating conditions for epidemic diseases to spread among people with weakened immunity.

Unprecedented epidemics surge

A Palestinian doctor at Al Durrah Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah warns of the emergence of new kinds of epidemics.

“We are now seeing epidemics that did not previously exist in our hospitals and that too in large numbers,” Dr. Izzeddin Shaheen tells TRT World.

“Insect bites and some skin infections, which we haven’t seen before, are now common.”

From fungal infections to contagious illnesses such as bronchitis, respiratory infections, meningitis, and encephalitis, people in Gaza suffer from various diseases.

The weather conditions, including heatwaves, exacerbate the already grim situation.

Dr. Shaheen says, “Heatwaves make diseases more communicable, even within hospital wards, affecting children.”

Crippling Bodies

For the past 300 days, Israel’s restriction of humanitarian aid in Gaza has resulted in malnutrition and weakened immune systems.

The food and water crises have weakened people's immune systems, making them susceptible to bacterial and viral infection, which in some cases have lead to fatal conditions.

“Malnutrition weakens immunity, causes anemia, making children vulnerable to infections and contagious illnesses,” Dr Shaheen explains.

“Most cases in the children's wards are related to hunger and malnutrition,” he continues.

Dr. Shaheen recalls an 8 year old little girl named Hanan al Zaanin, who was admitted at the hospital as severely malnourished, died within 24 hours.

Analysing the situation, Dr. Shaheen says, “Treatments that used to take a day or two, like the common flu, now take two weeks to cure.”

‘Famine risk persists due to humanitarian access restriction’

An international food security organisation based in Rome, IPC Partnership, in its latest report indicated that “more than half of the population does not have any food to eat, and over 20 percent go entire days and nights without eating, on a regular basis.”

IPC findings also revealed that one in every five Palestinians in Gaza, which is equivalent to 495,000 people, is facing “catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity.”

This falls under the Phase 5 classification, which is the most severe level of food insecurity. During this phase, households endure severe food shortages, starvation, and depletion of coping mechanisms.

Abu Rabie commented on the situation by saying, “We are talking about a real famine, with no access to necessities like food, water, meat, legumes and vegetables. For more than nine months, we haven’t seen fruit.”

Palestinian residents from Gaza tell TRT World that they have been relying on canned foods and white flour for the past few months.

Apart from the destruction of Palestinian lives and habitats and the creation of calamitous hunger and famine by bombing agricultural fields, poultry farms, and greenhouses and blocking and delaying humanitarian aid, Israel has destroyed the infrastructure for storage, treatment and supply of water, reducing Gaza’s water capacity by 94 percent since October, according to a recent report by Oxfam.

“Water is scarce. Every few days, donors bring somewhat filtered water tanks – not completely filtered ­– better than the salty water from the wells. But people have to stand in long queues,” Abu Rabie explains.

“Not all manage to fill their water containers,” Abu Rabie adds.

A barter on the battlefield

The IPC Partnership report highlights the extreme measures people are taking to survive.

“In order to buy food, more than half of the households in Gaza were forced to exchange their clothes for money, and one third resorted to picking up trash to sell,” the report says.

The IPC Partnership states that the imminent “risk of famine will persist as long as humanitarian access is restricted.”

Despite these hardships, Youssef Abu Rabie remains steadfast. “While we’re facing a famine, we find solace in our patience and faith.”

“We are adjusting to this new reality. Today, we must be patient and endure the conditions that we live in, hoping that God will ease our suffering.”

To conclude the conversation, Abu Rabie quotes a verse from the Quran: “Verily, with every hardship comes ease.”