UNRWA warns of Hepatitis A outbreak in Gaza amid Israeli aggression

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
2 Dec 2023 16:53
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Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, acknowledges the significant difficulties in maintaining sanitation within the schools-turned-shelters, where people are densely packed into classrooms.

Palestinian father carries his child in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip during his funeral at a UN-run school in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, 27 October 2023. (AP)

Thomas White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, has issued a warning about the escalating Hepatitis A outbreak in the region, emphasizing the overwhelming challenges faced by UNRWA schools-turned shelters due to the extensive displacement in the southern areas.

"At one of our schools, we've now had an outbreak of Hepatitis A," he said.

In an interview for the BBC, White acknowledged the significant difficulties in maintaining sanitation within the shelters, where people are densely packed into classrooms, with an average of 150 individuals sharing a single bathroom.

"At one of our schools, we've now had an outbreak of Hepatitis A"@TomWhiteGaza informs @BBCNews that the risk of disease in📍#Gaza is very present as our schools - set up to shelter 1,500 people - are averaging over 6,000 people sheltering in the south. pic.twitter.com/tu4DqMuv1h
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 1, 2023

He tersely stated, "The risk of the disease is very present in Gaza at the present time."

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza emphasized that the prevalent risk of disease in Gaza is heightened by the fact that UNRWA schools, initially designed to accommodate 1,500 people, are currently hosting over 6,000 individuals in the southern region.

'Deep deprivation'

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) last Monday, "Over 1.7 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80 percent of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced. Of them, nearly 896,000 IDPs are sheltering in 99 facilities in the south."

"You come across whole city blocks that have been demolished, just a pancake of concrete layered as buildings have collapsed"

On route to northern #Gaza, @TomWhiteGaza describes areas of total, catastrophic devastation.#UNRWAworks to deliver urgent aid across the 📍#GazaStrip pic.twitter.com/qAPT2fskKu
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 28, 2023

The report pointed out that "due to the overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions at UNRWA shelters, there have been significant increases in some communicable diseases and conditions such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, skin infections and hygiene-related conditions like lice."

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini considered, on November 27, that the current aid being delivered to Gaza is insufficient to make up for the deep deprivation caused by the Israeli blockade on the Strip.

"Since … the beginning of the truce, we have seen a significant increase of trucks entering into Gaza. I would say on the first day we had an average of 40 trucks, which was far, far, far too little compared to the immense need in the Gaza Strip," Lazzarini said in an interview for CBS’ "Face the Nation."

The Israeli occupation forces fire smoke bombs at the Abu Hussein UNRWA school which is a shelter for displaced civilians in the northern part of Gaza. 2.11.23

قوات الاحتلال تطلق القنابل الدخانية بكثافة في محيط مدرسة أبو حسين التي يعيش فيها نازحون شمال غزة pic.twitter.com/SzcoVN2GGv
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) December 2, 2023

In the same context, the WHO has repeatedly warned of the fast spread of infectious diseases in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression that has disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems.

It included intense overcrowding as another reason for "the rapid spread of infectious diseases," warning that "worrying trends are already emerging."