Fleas exacerbate the health crisis in displaced persons’ camps

The suffering of displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of ​​Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, is no longer limited to food and water shortages and cramped living spaces. A new health crisis has emerged: a widespread flea infestation inside the tents. The absence of pest control campaigns and deteriorating environmental conditions have exacerbated the daily hardship and increased health risks, especially among children and the elderly.

At night, the tents become open spaces of pain: constant itching, relentless bites, and bloodstains on blankets and clothing.

Thousands of families, already exhausted by displacement, find themselves facing a new battle, this time against tiny insects that are not easily seen but leave a clear mark on their weary bodies.

Israa al-Najjar, 27, displaced from Gaza City and currently living in Al-Mawasi, says that sleep has become a distant dream. She adds that her two-year-old child cries for hours due to the frequent bites, noting that she has tried using topical medications and ointments to no avail, because the fleas—as she describes them—infest the sand, under blankets, and between mattress folds, making it insufficient to control them within a single tent.

She emphasizes that if the situation continues as it is, many will consider moving within the camp in search of a less polluted environment, despite the cramped conditions and lack of alternatives.