In the Gaza Strip, displaced families face a new nightmare: rampant rodent and pest infestations, with reports of bites on infants and the elderly.
Aid workers warn of a public health crisis. UN agencies cite rodents visible in 80% of displacement sites, affecting roughly 1.45 million people. The World Health Organization links the surge to a collapsed living environment following more than six months of a stalled U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Raw sewage and mounting garbage piles near tents provide breeding grounds. Parents report staying awake at night to protect their children. One father of four, Rizq Abu Laila, said: "We cannot sleep! If we sleep, they bite the children."
UNICEF and other agencies call for a large-scale campaign to clear waste and rubble, but access to landfill sites is restricted by Israeli military control, and critical supplies like pipes are limited. COGAT, the Israeli defense body, says it coordinates sanitation efforts and has permitted entry of rat traps and pesticides.
The WHO reports over 111,500 cases of disease from external parasites this year, including scabies. Residents fear worse conditions as summer approaches.