Gaza faces surge in infectious diseases amid escalating skin outbreaks

As temperatures soar during the peak of summer, tents housing displaced people across the Gaza Strip have become like ovens, with no cooling facilities and little access to basic necessities.

Inside a fabric tent at the Al-Attar camp for displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, 70-year-old grandmother Umm Ahmed Tabaza sits beside her two-year-old granddaughter, Sama, fanning her with a piece of cardboard in an attempt to cool her after she was exhausted by the heat and illness.

Inflamed blisters have spread densely across the child’s body, causing severe itching that sometimes leads to bleeding. After she contracted chickenpox, the infection spread to several members of her family living with her inside the tent.

Despite her frail body, Sama struggles to cope with the pain and high fever. Her suffering has worsened because she cannot bathe with water for fear of aggravating her condition.

Sama’s mother told Quds Press: “More than 12 people are living inside the tent, including my five children and three children of my late sister. Sama developed chickenpox about a week ago, and the infection quickly spread to most of the family.”