Hundreds of meningitis cases in Gaza, Hamas warns of a catastrophe threatening the Strip's children

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that "Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza City has recorded hundreds of cases of meningitis among children," while the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) warned that the increasing spread of the disease portends a catastrophe and new dangers threatening the children of the Strip.

The ministry warned of the escalating spread of the disease in light of the ongoing collapse of the health sector and the catastrophic living conditions facing the population.

She pointed out that health facilities in the Gaza Strip are under unprecedented pressure as a result of the occupation's policy of blockade and systematic destruction of health infrastructure.

Dr. Ragheb Warsh Agha, head of the pediatric department at Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza, said that deteriorating infrastructure and malnutrition have accelerated the spread of meningitis among children.

Agha warned of the seriousness of this disease in the absence of appropriate treatment, which could lead to a high mortality rate among children. He added that hundreds of children are infected with the disease every month.

Dr. Agha called on international and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to provide safe drinking water and support health facilities with the necessary medicines and antibiotics to limit the spread of the disease, in addition to supporting primary healthcare units.

For its part, Hamas stated that the increasing spread of meningitis among children, with hundreds of cases recorded in the past few days, portends a new catastrophe and dangers threatening the children of the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the collapse of the health system, the worsening famine, the shortage of baby formula, and the cases of malnutrition resulting from the blockade and the concentrated targeting by the fascist occupation army.

Hamas called on the international community, the United Nations, and its institutions—particularly the World Health Organization—to intervene immediately to save the children of Gaza, who are facing an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy.

She called for action to break the unjust Israeli blockade and supply the Gaza Strip with medical supplies, especially those related to child care, as this is a legal, moral, and humanitarian responsibility that cannot be postponed.

In early March, Israel escalated its crimes by arbitrarily closing all crossings into the Gaza Strip, completely preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief aid, fuel trucks, and all supplies.

On the 18th of the same month, Israel reneged on the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement in effect since January 19, and resumed its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, despite Hamas's commitment to all terms of the agreement.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with US support, has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, leaving more than 190,000 Palestinians dead or wounded—mostly children and women—and more than 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced.