A health official in the Gaza Strip warned on Wednesday of the emergence of new and strange skin diseases in displacement camps, including acute dermatitis, which causes the skin and flesh to erode.

Sami Hamid, head of the Al-Nakheel Medical Center in Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip, said, “New and strange skin diseases have recently appeared in the Gaza Strip, due to the deteriorating environmental and health conditions.”

Hamid added that the medical staff at the center believes that the cause of these skin diseases is the bites of types of insects that are now present in the displacement camps, according to what was reported by the Anatolia Agency, quoting him.

Waste and sanitation

He stated that the majority of displacement camps in the central and southern Gaza Strip are located in areas that lack infrastructure and basic services.

Hamid continued: “The accumulation of waste in the streets and the accumulation of sewage water near the displacement tents constitute dangerous hotbeds for the spread of these diseases and the breeding of insects, and then the exacerbation of strange skin conditions.”

The health official explained that the Ministry of Health and the Pharmacists Syndicate in Gaza sent details of some of these medical cases for medical consultations at the Arab and regional levels to find out the reasons for the emergence of these diseases and obtain the appropriate medication for them.

Among the strange and new diseases in the displacement camps, according to Hamid, is an acute skin infection that causes a rash, which turns over time into erosion of the skin and flesh, reaching the bones.

He said: "We received 3 cases of patients suffering from this acute skin inflammation at Al Nakheel Medical Center."

He explained that these cases "were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, east of Deir al-Balah, to conduct the necessary medical examinations and deal with them; where they were treated and controlled before they worsened."

Spread of scabies and smallpox

Hamid pointed out the spread of many skin diseases and epidemics in Gaza recently, including new diseases, especially with the onset of summer, the lack of ventilation and cooling methods, and the harsh living conditions inside the tents of the displaced.

He said: “At first, we recorded the spread of scabies as foci that existed between the tents. We called on the medical unit to address this issue and communicated with the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). We presented an initiative to control these foci and isolate the infected so that this epidemic does not spread.”

Scabies is a skin disease that causes severe itching that can lead to bleeding outside the skin, according to the Palestinian health official.

He explained that the center provides medical services to about 100 patients daily, about 10-12 percent of these patients suffer from scabies.

Hamid pointed out that "smallpox has also recently begun to spread among the displaced. It is an immune skin infection that affects children and lasts for 3 days, causing severe pain and the appearance of skin blisters that transmit the infection quickly."

The displaced people in Gaza suffer from difficult humanitarian conditions due to the repeated displacement and the lack of basic services in the camps, such as water and sanitation, not to mention the worsening health and environmental crises.

With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, leaving more than 131,000 dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amidst massive destruction and deadly famine.

In contempt of the international community, Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.