00:00In the rubble of Han Yunis, Gazans displaced by war find their tents overrun with rats, insects, and parasites.
00:09They bite children's fingers as they sleep, gnaw through belongings, and spread disease.
00:14This outbreak is unfolding as many Ghazas, more than two million people, are now living in bombed-out homes and
00:20makeshift tents pitched on open ground, on roadsides, or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.
00:25Amid shortages imposed by Israel, pesticides and rat traps are scarce.
00:35We used to have rodents in the past, but they were little and we didn't feel them in our homes
00:44in the stone buildings.
00:45The municipality used to give us insecticides and spray for mosquitoes, fleas, flies, and rodents.
00:53They gave us poison and other products to address this thing, but we're surprised to find them living with us.
01:00This is truly difficult.
01:02We can't bear this at all.
01:04We just can't.
01:07Israel cites security concerns for curbs on Gaza.
01:10Israel generally restricts the entry to Gaza of items it says can have dual military or civilian use.
01:15Dr. Asaad Sadiq heads the dermatology department at Nasser Hospital.
01:20He told Reuters, accumulation of waste is leading to contact between humans and vermin, leading to bites and skin infections.
01:30He said Israeli restrictions on aid have meant severe shortages of dermatology treatments in the Gaza Strip.
01:35An October ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has done little to ease the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza,
01:40where sewage and sanitation systems have been mostly destroyed by Israel,
01:44and humanitarian aid is subject to Israeli restrictions.
01:51Saeb Lakan is a spokesperson for the Khan Yunus municipality.
01:54He said the destruction of infrastructure has prevented the city from accessing its main landfill,
01:59meaning waste accumulates among the displaced residents.
02:01He estimated Khan Yunus had more than 450,000 tons of waste surrounding the tents.
02:07The World Health Organization's local representative said there were around 17,000 rodent and ectoparasitic infection-related cases in Gaza
02:15so far this year.
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