Whenever Suleiman al-Agha opens the tattered canvas flap of his tent, his gaze falls upon a vast pool of stagnant water surrounding his displacement site in the Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.
It is not a natural lake, but a sewage-filled swamp surrounded by piles of garbage. Flies and mosquitoes hover over the water, while rats and mice scurry through the refuse.
For 42-year-old al-Agha, a father of five, the harsh living conditions were something he had rarely complained about. After all, they are living through a war. But that changed when red rashes and blisters began to appear on his skin.
"For months, especially during the summer, I've been suffering from constant itching caused by a skin condition," al-Agha told Xinhua, scratching his blisters and rashes so intensely that some of the wounds nearly bleed.
Limited access to water and hygiene supplies has made it difficult to relieve the symptoms or prevent them from worsening.
"The high temperatures inside the tent make it worse, while the stagnant sewage, garbage and insects around the displacement site make my health situation even more difficult," he said.
According to al-Agha, access to water and cleaning supplies remains a daily struggle for displaced families, leaving them with little means to improve their surroundings even as they understood the health risks.
"Everything in our lives is difficult. Even protecting ourselves and our children from diseases has become a luxury we cannot afford," he said.
The case of al-Agha reflects a wider health crisis across the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people live in overcrowded shelters and tents amid shortages of water and hygiene supplies, deteriorating sanitation services and accumulating waste.
According to Gaza's Ministry of Public Works and Housing, the housing crisis has reached a "catastrophic and unprecedented stage," with about 410,000 housing units destroyed and more than 350,000 families in need of temporary shelter.
Nearly 60 million tons of rubble remain across the strip, while continued restrictions on the entry of shelter supplies are turning Gaza into an "unlivable area," contributing to a surge in skin diseases, according to the ministry.
Mohammed Abu Afash, director of medical relief in northern Gaza, told Xinhua that more than 9,000 cases of contagious skin diseases had been recorded in two weeks, averaging more than 600 cases a day.
The cases included chickenpox, scabies and lice, he said, warning that their continued spread could place additional pressure on Gaza's already strained health system, particularly in displacement camps and shelters.
Overcrowding facilitates transmission among family members, while shortages of water, soap and disinfectants increase the risks, Abu Afash added, explaining that many displaced families could not follow basic preventive measures, including regular handwashing, changing clothes and blankets, and isolating infected people.
Jamil Suleiman, director of Al-Rantisi Children's Hospital, also reported a significant increase in infectious diseases, particularly chickenpox among children.
"The rapid spread of chickenpox was especially concerning under current conditions, as overcrowded homes and shelters brought children into frequent contact with one another," Suleiman said.
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