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Hamas: Gaza children extremely susceptible to meningitis outbreak

Tuesday, 01 July 2025 7:08 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 01 July 2025 7:08 PM ]

Palestinian children scrape a pot for a portion of food at a food distribution point in Gaza City, June 27, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Hamas warns that as a result of the Israeli regime's genocidal war and its continuation of the blockade, Gaza children have become susceptible to the outbreak of meningitis.

The Palestinian resistance movement said in a statement on Tuesday that cases of meningitis in the enclave, especially among children, are increasing at an exponential rate.

“The increasing spread of meningitis among children signals a looming catastrophe and new dangers threatening Gaza’s children,” said the statement.

“The outbreak comes amid a collapse of the health system, deepening famine, widespread malnutrition, and severe shortages of infant formula caused by the Israeli blockade and attacks,” it added.

The group appealed to the international community, the United Nations, and the World Health Organization (WHO) to intervene and save Gaza’s children from an imminent humanitarian disaster.

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In a similar statement on Tuesday, Dr. Ragheb Wersh Agha, the head of the Pediatrics Department at the children hospitals of Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi, said the facilities are witnessing a daily increase in meningitis cases, particularly among displaced children who live in overcrowded shelters with no access to basic hygiene or clean water.

He warned that severe overcrowding is greatly increasing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, at a time when medical facilities are suffering from critical shortages of antibiotics, essential supplies, and protective equipment.

He called on international humanitarian organizations to act immediately by providing clean water and urgently needed medical equipment.

Meanwhile, doctors across Gaza warn that the situation for children could get significantly worse and thousands of them could die from malnutrition within days.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, the entire population of Gaza suffers from level 4 famine and mothers are incapable of lactating, while due to the Israeli blockade, the enclave is running out of baby formula. As a result, the majority of infants suffer from severe malnutrition and are close to death.

Since October 7, 2023, when the Israeli regime began its campaign of genocide in Gaza, it has killed at least 56,531 Palestinians and wounded 133,642, according to the health ministry of Gaza.

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