DayofPal– Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza has reported first 35 confirmed cases of meningitis among children, raising fresh alarms in a region already reeling from the recent resurgence of polio.
Health professionals described the outbreak “dangerous and alarming,” warning of a looming public health catastrophe amid the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure due to ongoing genocide and a prolonged blockade.
The spokesperson of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah said over 400 cases of meningitis were recorded since the start of 2025.
Doctors at Nasser Hospital have expressed grave concern about the rapid spread of meningitis, particularly among displaced children living in overcrowded tents.
The disease poses serious risks to mental and sensory functions, and its spread has been exacerbated by severe malnutrition, which has significantly weakened children’s immune systems.
The hospital, operating under dire humanitarian conditions, is facing acute shortages of antibiotics, essential medications, and hospital beds.
In some cases, doctors have been forced to treat infected children on the floor, as medical supplies dwindle and the patient load surges.
Medical staff have issued an urgent warning that the health system may completely collapse if the spread of infection continues unchecked.
This latest outbreak comes just months after Gaza reported a shocking return of polio. The back-to-back emergence of two serious infectious diseases is compounding fears that Gaza’s deteriorating medical infrastructure can no longer contain or manage preventable illnesses.
Hospitals across Gaza continue to suffer from a crippling lack of fuel, medical equipment, and essential health supplies, with humanitarian aid deliveries largely blocked for months.
Health authorities and international organizations have stressed the urgent need for immediate intervention to prevent further loss of life and to support an overwhelmed and under-resourced health system.
Medical personnel on the ground are calling on the international community to act swiftly to avert what they describe as an “unfolding disaster” affecting thousands of vulnerable children across the Gaza Strip.
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