Gaza health risks rise as rainy season nears, WHO warns

The World Health Organization warned Tuesday that Gaza's approaching rainy season could worsen public health risks for people living in crowded tent camps surrounded by rubble, rubbish and overflowing sewage.

WHO representative Reinhilde Van de Weerdt said water quality had deteriorated in recent months and diarrhoea cases had increased. She told reporters from Gaza that testing of about 6,700 water samples in the first eight months of the year showed microbiological contamination rose from under 6% in January to more than 18% in August.

Van de Weerdt said acute watery diarrhoea cases had increased from about 27,000 in March to more than 48,000 in August. She said limited laboratory capacity in Gaza meant testing could not detect all contaminants likely to be present in water and the wider environment.

She warned that flooding could carry sewage, waste and contaminated water into places where people sleep, cook and care for relatives. Standing water could also create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and other pests, while tents could become infested with mold, she said.

The WHO called for unimpeded and faster entry of humanitarian supplies, including materials for permanent shelter, water provision, waste management and laboratory supplies to confirm causes of disease and respond to outbreaks.

Gaza has faced a severe health and humanitarian crisis since Israel launched its war in the territory after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel. A US-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025, but violence has not halted in the Gaza Strip and Israel continues to restrict the entry of goods, including medical equipment and fuel.