More than 1.7 million Palestinians have contracted infectious diseases amid severe displacement conditions, according to the government.
Approximately 350,000 people with chronic illnesses in Gaza face significant risks as the Israeli army continues to block essential medications from entering the territory.
An estimated 1.9 million people are displaced in Gaza due to Israel’s ongoing war on the Palestinian enclave.
Palestinian families displaced by Israeli attacks have sought refuge in various locations, including schools converted into shelters throughout the Gaza Strip.
Last week, Israeli airstrikes targeted four shelters within four days, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians and injuring many others.
The United Nations reports that the 1.9 million people displaced by Israel’s war on Gaza endure “harrowing conditions,” including one shelter in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah where 14,000 people share only 25 toilets.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates worsening malnutrition is exacerbating vulnerability to disease in a “vicious cycle” of inadequate food, lack of clean water, insufficient sanitation, and limited access to basic health services.
Between Monday and Thursday this week alone, 182 people were reported killed and 458 injured due to the ongoing Israeli violence.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, reiterated that the international community’s inaction has allowed Israeli crimes to escalate into genocide.
“Genocide in Gaza is the result of Israel’s decades-long impunity,” Albanese stated on social media, alongside footage of her speech asserting that Israel aims to “rid Palestine of Palestinians.”
“In this darkest hour, the international community cannot continue to ignore that it’s Israel’s project to rid Palestine of Palestinians in defiance of international law, and the world’s failure to call Israel to account has led to genocide laid bare in Gaza,” she emphasized.
At least 38,345 people have been killed and 88,295 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7.