As summer approaches, skin diseases spread through Gaza’s refugee camps

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Gaza City, Palestine – The United Nations has warned that a new public health crisis is emerging in Gaza, as skin diseases spread in crowded camps throughout the enclave, with fears that the situation could soon worsen during the summer.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said the number of skin infections has tripled in recent months, with rising temperatures, overcrowding and worsening sanitation creating a breeding ground for scabies, chickenpox and other diseases, particularly among children.

As summer approaches, families and healthcare officials are desperate to avoid a repeat of 2024, when at least 150,000 people in Gaza suffered from skin conditions, largely due to shortages in medical equipment brought about by Israel’s genocidal war on the territory.

While a “ceasefire” has been in place in the Gaza Strip since October 2025, Israel has continued to strike the territory and enforced a blockade that has severely limited the import of essential medical equipment.

“We searched all the land across the Strip; it’s filled with displaced people,” said Fawzi al-Najjar, a displaced Palestinian living in one of Gaza’s refugee camps. “There are a million people crammed on top of each other. And we came here to live on top of a garbage dump. This is a huge problem. What are we supposed to do? Dogs, cats, fleas, and rats … look at my hand!”

With few medical supplies available, Palestinians, like al-Najjar, are having to resort to homemade remedies to treat their loved ones, while health officials’ efforts to halt the spread of the diseases are being severely constrained by the Israeli blockade.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the situation in displacement sites continues to deteriorate.

“Teams on the ground say that pests and skin infections among people in Gaza are still on the rise,” he said at a news briefing last month. “In March, such infections have more than tripled in our own UN-run displacement sites.”

He added that the crisis is now “impacting almost 10,000 people compared with about 3,000 in January”. Dujarric urged greater access for “the entry of anti-lice shampoo, lotions, hygiene supplies, pesticides and insecticides, to avert an even greater public health emergency and prevent further harm to civilians”.

In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, health workers are desperately disinfecting thousands of tents to minimise the spread of infections, but due to shortages of essential materials, many camps could be left untreated.

“So far, within 26 days, we have sprayed more than 50,000 tents out of a total of 200,000,” said Saeb Lagan, spokesperson for the Khan Younis municipality. “We are struggling with our inability to provide the necessary materials for the work, as the pesticides are not available in the local market.”

Hundreds of children in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, are suffering from scabies, chickenpox and other skin conditions linked to poor hygiene and overcrowded living spaces.

“Skin diseases spread rapidly by nature due to close contact,” said Dr Salim Ramadan, a general practitioner in Gaza. “We cannot prevent that contact. Dealing with them is extremely difficult right now because medications are unavailable, and the proper conditions needed after treatment, such as adequate nutrition, ventilation and hygiene, are also lacking.”