‘Frightening Increase’ in Hepatitis Cases in Gaza: UN

New York
Islamabad: UN humanitarian agencies have issued a grave warning about the escalating risk of infectious diseases in Gaza, exacerbated by chronic water scarcity and inadequate waste and sewage management.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, highlighted on social media that Hepatitis A is spreading, including among children.
Since the conflict began last October, UNRWA shelters and clinics have reported 40,000 cases of Hepatitis A, a stark increase from just 85 cases reported in the same period before the conflict. Lazzarini described this surge as “frightening.”
Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus transmitted through contaminated food and water, or direct contact with an infected person. The collapse of Gaza’s waste management system, with piles of trash accumulating in the intense summer heat and sewage flowing through the streets, creates a hazardous environment conducive to the spread of diseases.
Humanitarians are also concerned about a potential polio outbreak following recent discoveries of the virus in sewage samples.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized that while efforts are underway to acquire vaccines, delivering them is challenging. The WHO has called for a ceasefire and safe access to ensure that every person in Gaza receives necessary vaccinations.
Aid delivery remains severely obstructed by ongoing hostilities, unexploded ordnance, damaged roads, attacks on aid convoys, lack of public order and safety, and insufficient border crossings. Israeli authorities have continued to impose restrictions on certain humanitarian supplies entering Gaza.
In July, Israel facilitated only 67 out of 157 planned aid missions to northern Gaza, with the remainder either denied, impeded, or canceled due to security, logistical, or operational issues.
This week marked a somber milestone for UNRWA, with the number of staff killed since the conflict began rising to 202—the highest number of UN personnel killed in a single conflict since the Organization’s establishment in 1945.
These staff members included teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers, engineers, support staff, logisticians, and technology and communications workers, many of whom were killed in their homes or while providing humanitarian assistance.
Lazzarini pledged that the UN would spare no effort in seeking accountability for these deaths, echoing the call from the UN Secretary-General. The organization will observe several occasions to honor the memory of their fallen colleagues in the coming weeks.