Diseases spread in Gaza amid water and sewage crisis, cholera feared

Sewage flows in the streets of Gaza as all key sanitation services have ceased operating, raising the alarming prospect of an enormous surge of gastrointestinal and infectious diseases among the local populations – including cholera.

At a school run by the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Khan Younis, 33-year-old Osama Saqr attempted to fill some bottles with water for his thirsty children.

He took a sip and grimaced in disgust at the saltiness of the fluid before letting out a long sigh.

“It’s polluted and unsuitable, but my children always drink it, there’s no alternative,” he told Al Jazeera.

Saqr’s one-year-old son has diarrhoea, but he cannot find medicines in hospitals or pharmacies to treat him. “Even if I find it, the problem remains: The water is polluted and salty water, not suitable for drinking,” he said.

“I’m afraid that eventually, I’m going to lose one of my children to this poisoning.”