Gaza- The child Swar Suleiman spent a whole week at Al -Tahrir Hospital inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, after the doctors had a parasite of “Al -Amiba” and “Giardia”, which are from the parasites that are transmitted through polluted water and unhealthy food.
Her family was relatively fortunate, as their displacement tent was close to the Nasser Complex, which enabled her to reach the hospital and obtain an intravenous treatment inside the overnight department, something that thousands of other children were not luck And 3 months.
A bracelet is one of the thousands of children in the Gaza Strip who had the parasites of “amoeba” and “Giardia” as a result of pollution caused by the mixing of drinking water with wastewater, in addition to eating unhealthy food, which constitutes a direct threat to the health of children.
We got – in Al Jazeera Net – documented data from the Nasser Medical Complex, which was providing medical services for more than one million and 300 thousand displaced people.
The data showed a noticeable increase in the number of injuries in these parasites, as 7032 cases were recorded from August 2024 to January 2025, of which 684 cases entered the overnight sections for treatment, in the Nasser complex alone.
The center and north of the Gaza Strip also witnessed an increase in the number of cases of infection with these parasites, according to the data we obtained from hospitals that still provide their services despite the difficult circumstances imposed by the war.
Disturbing
Doctor Ahmed Al -Farra, Director of the Tahrir Hospital inside the Nasser Medical Complex, confirms a noticeable increase in the number of injuries in the “amoeba” and “Al -Giardia” parasites during the war, due to the destruction of the sewage infrastructure, the increase of displacement, and the need for people to use unclean water sources, and to rely on Canned foods that may lack health safety standards.
Al -Farra explained – in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net – that unhealthy food, poor preparation methods, lack of personal hygiene, in addition to the leakage of wastewater to groundwater, are all factors that led to the weak immune system in children and their infection with these parasites.
He pointed out that one of the reasons for the spread of “amoeba” and “Giardia” is the families ’resort to the sea water contaminated to wash clothes, utensils and covers, during the displacement, which increased the cases of injury.
And Al -Farra indicated that diarrhea is one of the most prominent symptoms of infection with these parasites, and it may be accompanied by blood threads in some cases, along with abdominal pain, feeling nausea, high temperature, and weight loss due to poor absorption.
As for treatment, especially for cases that suffer from severe vomiting, Al -Farra confirmed that children need intravenous treatment, medical drink, and drug pills. But during the war, long periods have passed without the availability of these basic treatments, which exacerbated the health situation.
“The drink or pills were not available for long periods, and the available was intravenous therapy only. But even this treatment was not easy for families to reach due to the difficulty of navigation and the great burden that it imposes on families in light of the difficult conditions.”
Water pollution
At Al -Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip, the head of the pediatric department, doctor Hani Al -Fleet, confirms a significant increase in cases of “Giardia” and “amoeba” during the war period. He pointed out that the hospital was receiving daily about 300 cases of children, including 170 people with “Giardia”, as some of them were forced to stay in the hospital due to dehydration.
“Pollution in the water, mixing with wastewater, and reaching food is the main reason behind the spread of these parasites, which made children vulnerable to weight loss and dehydration,” Al -Flite told Al -Jazeera Net.
He pointed out that many of the cases that arrived in the hospital were in advanced stages of the disease, which forced the doctors to provide an intense treatment for them, but the problem lies in their return to a polluted environment inside the camps, which makes the risk of infection continuous.
In the northern Gaza Strip, the director of Al -Rantisi for Children’s Hospital, Dr. Saeed Salah, confirmed that there is an increase in children’s injuries to “Giardia” as a result of water pollution and the spread of health swamps, as a result of the war.
Salah says in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net that the increase in the number of injuries was more than before the war, “and despite this, the necessary treatment is its availability due to the Israeli war.”
The numbers were absent from the northern Gaza Strip due to the departure of many hospitals during the war, due to the attack on the Israeli occupation army.
Laboratory analyzes conducted by the awareness team of transmitted diseases – through water and food – demonstrated the presence of a parasite “Giardia” and “amoeba” in stool samples taken from 5 different regions in the Gaza Strip.
Irritable toilets
Dr. Saud Al -Shawa, one of the team members, confirmed – in his interview with Al -Jazeera Net – that the statistics showed a significant increase in injuries to these parasites.
He explained that the sources of this infection include pollution of drinking water, poor waste disposal, the use of unhealthy toilets, and the spread of insects that transmit the disease.
Al -Shawa pointed out that the conditions of displacement were exacerbated by the crisis, as the displaced were forced to use inappropriate toilets, and hundreds gathered around one bath with a severe water shortage.
Sewage
For its part, the Palestinian Water Authority stressed that the Israeli war led to the cessation of all sewage services, which caused the drainage of wastewater to the sea and its leakage to residential areas, in addition to the fullness of the rain collection pools with wastewater, which reflected negatively on public health and the environment.