SRINAGAR: The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is taking a devastating toll on public health, with families resorting to burning plastic and trash for fuel as Israeli restrictions continue to block the entry of cooking gas and fuel.
The result, doctors warn, is a surge in respiratory illnesses, including asthma and pneumonia, that hospitals are ill-equipped to treat. The accounts were reported by UN News, which documented the daily struggles of displaced families living in makeshift tents across the enclave.
For Um Muhammad al-Masri, displaced from Beit Hanoun, survival now depends on the asthma inhaler supplied by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees. “I was prescribed medicine, but I couldn’t afford it, so UNRWA gave me this inhaler,” she told UN News. But her condition has worsened so severely that what should last two weeks runs out in just three days. “I can’t stop using the oven,” she said, explaining that she must burn plastic to bake bread and keep her family fed.
Others face similar hardships. Aisha al-Ra’i, pregnant and chronically ill, relies on her daughters to collect scraps of cardboard and plastic each morning. “We pray that this ordeal will be lifted from us so that we can return to our lives,” she said tearfully.
The health impacts are widespread. Um Muhammad Abu Zuaiter, who works as a baker alongside her husband, said the smoke from clay ovens has left them both with serious illnesses. “I have blood pressure, diabetes, a herniated disc, and I need an inhaler,” she told UN News. She even suffered a stroke last Ramadan but cannot stop working. “We work because we need to eat. We have young children in our tent who need to go every day to the aid distribution points.”
Doctors confirm the danger. Dr Khalil Al-Daqran, spokesperson for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said the widespread use of plastics in clay ovens is fuelling respiratory diseases. “This has led to the emission of toxic smoke and fumes, causing the spread of respiratory diseases among the population, posing a serious public health risk,” he said. With hospitals crippled by shortages of medicines and basic supplies, he appealed for urgent international action to ensure the entry of essential drugs, fuel and food.
According to UN News, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is worsening as fighting continues, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced families reliant on dangerous makeshift solutions. The UN has reiterated that it is ready to deliver large-scale aid, but severe obstacles remain in securing access.
