Ansar Allah website - Report -1 Safar 1448 AH
 

Medical Relief in the Gaza Strip warned on Thursday of the expanding spread of chickenpox among children within displacement camps. The organization confirmed that the Strip is facing an unprecedented epidemic outbreak amidst the ongoing aggression and blockade imposed by the Zionist enemy, which has led to the collapse of health services and the deterioration of humanitarian conditions.

 

Epidemic Outbreak in Overcrowded Camps

Bassam Zaqout, Director of Medical Relief in the Gaza Strip, stated that medical teams are recording approximately 5,000 new chickenpox infections per week. This indicator reflects the rapid spread of the disease inside highly overcrowded shelter centers and camps.

Zaqout explained that medical teams have identified active transmission hotspots within individual tents, as well as the spread of the virus among families residing in the same residential areas. He noted that containing the disease has become virtually impossible due to severe overcrowding and the total absence of basic sanitary and environmental necessities.

 

Prevention of Vaccine Entry and Waning Immunity

Zaqout attributed this surge to the Zionist enemy entity's continuous refusal to allow chickenpox vaccines into the Gaza Strip, alongside an acute shortage of vaccine supplies. He pointed out that thousands of children born since the start of the aggression have been unable to receive basic vaccinations, leading to a decline in community immunity and a heightened susceptibility to the virus's spread. Furthermore, any procedures to import vaccines take many months due to the restrictions imposed on the Strip.

The director also highlighted that pregnant women face doubled health risks if infected, as the virus can lead to miscarriages or congenital deformities in newborns, at a time when the healthcare system completely lacks the necessary vaccines and medications to protect this vulnerable group.

 

Severe Complications and Operational Challenges

Zaqout stressed that children suffering from weak immunity and malnutrition are the most vulnerable to severe complications. He added that rising temperatures inside dilapidated tents worsen the suffering of patients and create a fertile environment for the spread of diseases and epidemics.

He emphasized that containing the disease is impossible without the urgent delivery of chickenpox vaccines. He also warned that a suffocating fuel crisis threatens to halt ambulance services, while the widespread destruction of roads impedes the movement of mobile clinics, making it difficult for them to reach patients and the wounded.

 

UN Reports Mirror the Crisis

These warnings coincide with a recent United Nations announcement recording approximately 9,300 chickenpox cases within just two weeks inside displacement camps and shelter centers in the Gaza Strip, warning of a wider spread among the population.

The UN and medical bodies attributed this outbreak to several factors, most notably:

  • The impossibility of implementing quarantine or isolation measures inside overcrowded camps.

  • Environmental collapse and the deterioration of sanitation services.

  • The accumulation of waste and the spread of rodents, insects, and parasites across most displacement sites.

The UN added that nearly 85% of the population in the Gaza Strip is deprived of access to clean water and personal hygiene supplies. Meanwhile, the sharp rise in temperatures has created favorable conditions for the accelerated spread of the disease, threatening to worsen the healthcare crisis in the Strip if vaccine shortages persist and medical aid delivery remains blocked.