PRESS RELEASE: Rapidly Escalating Chickenpox Outbreak Sweeps Gaza’s Overcrowded Displacement Sites

Khan Younis, Gaza, 14 July 2026 – A massive and rapid surge in chickenpox cases is tearing through displaced communities in Gaza, fueled by severe overcrowding, shattered infrastructure, and critical shortages of basic hygiene supplies.  

Over the past two weeks alone, over 9,300 chickenpox cases have been recorded by the United Nations and health partners. Roughly half are concentrated in Khan Younis displacement sites. This two-week spike surpasses the 9,274 total cases recorded by the WHO across the entire conflict through mid-2024, signaling an alarming acceleration in the rate of transmission.  

Chickenpox is highly contagious and spreads through contact with the fluid from itchy blisters or through airborne transmission from an infected person. 

The crisis is unfolding as 1.7 million displaced people are squeezed into 1,500 makeshift sites. Living space has shrunk due to the expansion of the militarized "Yellow Line," which now covers approximately 70% of Gaza.  

Families are forced to live on ground contaminated with unexploded ordnance, asbestos, sewage and wastewater, heavy metals, industrial and medical waste, and chemical residue from munitions, all amid 61 million tons of largely uncleared rubble (only 0.5% cleared). Furthermore, severe Israeli restrictions on importing pesticides and disinfectants have left over 80% of displaced households exposed to rodents and pests, while nearly half report hygiene-related skin diseases. 

Chickenpox spreads among children 

The data translates into daily torment for thousands of children. In Khan Younis, a 10-year-old girl named Rawa developed a severe skin rash that rapidly spread across her body. Her family, living in a single small tent at the Water Authority displacement site for nearly two years, sought medical care for her chickenpox. However, the local clinic lacked essential medicines due to severe shortages. The family could not afford the private pharmacy alternatives. Within weeks, the virus spread to several of Rawa’s siblings. 

"Please look at our children with mercy," Rawa’s father pleaded. "They have lost their childhood. Instead of learning and playing, they spend their days searching for drinking water, waiting in food distribution lines... They deserve the opportunity to live with dignity, safety, and hope." 

At the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi Shelter, which is a former school now hosting over 80 families, a 7-year-old girl recently contracted the virus. Her mother explained that isolation is impossible, as the entire family shares a single room, bedding, and sanitation facilities. Due to severe water shortages and a complete lack of soap, she can only bathe her children once or twice a week. 

"We are not asking for much,” the mother shared. “We only need hygiene supplies and a hygiene kit that can help us care for my daughter and reduce the spread of the disease." 

"I only want the world to look at us," said the mother. "I dream of my children living like children anywhere else in the world. I want each of them to have a bed of their own, a toy to play with, and the chance to go to school safely."

However, localized humanitarian efforts are insufficient without systemic changes. The rapid spread of this outbreak proves that health and water, sanitation, and hygiene actors require immediate, unimpeded, and sustained access. Systematic restrictions and delivery delays directly translate into disease spread and preventable child suffering. 

The international community must urgently advocate for the lifting of restrictions on essential hygiene supplies, disinfectants, and medical shipments, and demand safe, continuous humanitarian access across Gaza to restore basic human dignity.