In the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, families displaced from their homes are now battling a new enemy: swarms of rats and urban weasels that bite children and spread disease. Aid workers warn of a public health catastrophe as rodents infest 80% of camps, affecting 1.45 million people.
"We cannot sleep! If we sleep, they bite the children," says Rizq Abu Laila, a father of four living next to a rubbish dump in Gaza City. His family's clothes have been torn, their flour eaten, and they suffer from constant scratching from fleas and mosquitoes.
The problem has escalated since the Israel-Hamas war devastated infrastructure. Raw sewage runs through overcrowded camps, and mounds of garbage have become breeding grounds for pests. A four-year-old girl, Mayaseen, was bitten on the hand by a weasel while sleeping in her family's tent; she required a tetanus shot and suffered days of fever and vomiting.
Aid agencies call for urgent action. "What is needed is a very large-scale campaign to deal with waste and rubble," says Ettie Higgins of UNICEF. However, Israeli restrictions on equipment and supplies hamper efforts. COGAT, the Israeli defense body coordinating aid, says it has facilitated entry of rat traps and pesticides, but locals say it's not enough.
The health impact is severe: over 111,500 cases of parasite-related diseases have been reported this year, with scabies, lice, and bedbugs rampant. As summer approaches, conditions are expected to worsen. "I don't see any lasting peace at all in Gaza. Life is much harder than before. There is no life," laments Hassan Al-Faqaawi, a father of six.