It’s the kids who are suffering the most in Gaza, according to officials with the World Health Organization.
Rampant diarrhea is spreading like a virus through the crowded territory because much of the water supply is polluted, and drinking water is hard to come by, the group said.
“She has been suffering from diarrhea for over a week,” Ali Al-Hour, 29, said Friday as he tended to his 2-year-old daughter, Fatima, in the Neusarat refugee camp. “We have begun boiling the water to be mixed with milk for her.”
The despondent dad’s words were echoed across the territory, where 1.4 million Palestinians live cheek by jowl, 56% of them children.
“The doctors told me not to allow the children to drink water from the tap,” said Muhammad Abu Eisheh, 37, as he searched in vain through the Neusarat camp for water for his three thirsty children.
Polio, measles and hepatitis are also threatening trapped Palestinian children because doctors have stopped vaccinating kids, health officials warned.
The WHO was in the midst of a mass vaccination program when the bombing began on Dec. 27. Now a health crisis is about to explode.
“If vaccinations are stopped for one or two weeks, this is enough to cause a widespread outbreak of avoidable diseases,” said Mahmoud Daher, WHO’s health officer in Gaza. “Efforts have been made for 15 years here to stop these diseases.”
Adding to Gaza’s woes, Israeli bombs damaged its already inadequate sewage system, and there are dozens of buried bodies rotting under the rubble, creating a stifling stench.
“The breakdown of the water and sewage systems can increase the risk of diarrhea and other viral diseases, particularly among children,” Daher said.
Source: MyDailyNews
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