In a hallway at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Iman Abu Jame (32) sat beside her six-year-old son Yasser, watching his frail body covered in red rashes and burn-like wounds that doctors could not explain. The family lives in a cramped tent in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis – an area densely packed with displaced people. Iman described the living conditions as catastrophic: stifling air, piles of trash around the tents, and contaminated water the only option for many families. Insects and rodents crawl everywhere in overcrowded shelters, where thousands of displaced people live without sanitation systems and with scarce food.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 17,000 parasitic skin infections (caused by parasites living on or under human skin) were recorded in 2026 alone. In April of this year, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) screened 7,017 people at six primary health centers in Gaza. Of the 1,325 diagnosed with skin disease, over 62% were children – including 168 under two, 259 aged three to five, and 245 aged six to 12.
At MAP’s Solidarity Polyclinic in Deir el-Balah (central Gaza), scabies accounted for nearly a third of all infectious disease cases recorded in April. The clinic has treated more than 77,000 people in its first year of operation, as Gaza’s health system continues to collapse under the pressure of war, displacement, shortages of supplies and equipment.
Dr. Rana Abu Jalal, who works at the clinic, said doctors are witnessing “a sharp increase” in skin diseases, especially scabies, with many cases developing into severe infections and painful abscesses. She said: “What affects me most is the impact on children. They are the most vulnerable.” She attributed the spread to overcrowded tents, unsafe water, poor ventilation, and a near-total lack of hygiene items.
In Khan Younis, Dr. Alaa Ouda, working at a MAP-supported clinic serving six displacement camps, said he treats 70 to 80 patients daily for scabies, flea infestations, infected insect bites and fungal infections. He said: “The fleas we are seeing are carrying scabies. There is another insect we haven’t identified. Its bites look like spider bites and often develop into infections and open sores.” He also noted that scalp fungal infections among girls are spreading rapidly in the camps.
But even as case numbers surge, medicines have all but disappeared. Dr. Ouda said: “The problem is no longer scarcity. It is near-total absence.” Permethrin, a key treatment drug for scabies, is no longer available.
Mohammed Fathi, a MAP community health worker, said many families have stopped seeking treatment because drugs are unavailable, and children are returned to the same hazardous conditions that made them sick. He said: “People have lost hope. Even when temporary treatment is available, the root cause remains unchanged.”
