UN News Says Plague of Rats and Insects Threatens Gaza Residents, UNRWA Sprays Pesticides in Khan Younis

After more than 18 months of deadly bombardments, displacement, and lack of access to basic services, Gaza residents are facing another challenge as UN News reports a “plague of rats and insects.”

A displaced woman told a UN News correspondent in Gaza, “In all camps, we suffer from biting insects, especially fleas,” and said, “Our children suffer severe itching and bites.”

Al Jazeera

UNRWA teams have launched intensive cleaning operations and environmental and health awareness campaigns, including spraying pesticides in Khan Younis to counter insects, fleas and rodents.

UN News said the biting insects do not pose an immediate life-threatening danger, but the presence of rodents, notably rats, can increase the risk of spreading infectious diseases that Gaza’s health system may not be able to treat.

UNRWA warned Thursday that displaced children in the Gaza Strip are being bitten by rats while sleeping inside overcrowded tents, as Palestine Chronicle reported.

Palestine Chronicle said UNRWA is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and local partners to monitor rising skin infections and disease risks caused by rats, mice, lice, fleas, and mites.

Bernama

According to WHO figures cited in the Palestine Chronicle report, more than 17,000 infections linked to rodents and external parasites have been recorded in Gaza since the beginning of 2026.

In a separate report, WAFA Agency quoted UNRWA posting on X that “Rats bite children in the night in their tents while they sleep,” and stressed the urgent need to allow the entry of more tents, insecticides, and medications into the blockaded Strip.

UN News linked the rat and insect threat to inadequate sanitation, including limited access to clean toilets, general overcrowding, people seeking shelter among the rubble of Gaza, and difficulties in collecting garbage from the streets.

“Istanbul, May 7 (Bernama-Anadolu) — The spread of rodents, overcrowded shelters, and broken sanitation systems are leaving Gaza's population at a much higher risk of disease, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned Thursday, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported”

Bernama

Palestine Chronicle added that UNRWA called for the urgent entry of more tents, pesticides, medicines, and humanitarian supplies into Gaza, while also describing severe shortages of medicine and supplies.

In UN News, UNRWA said pesticide stocks are expected to run out within a few days in the southern Gaza Strip, while they are already exhausted in the central and northern areas of the enclave.

UN News also stated that no aid or humanitarian supplies have entered the Gaza Strip since March 2, 2025, due to the total blockade imposed by Israel, and said UNRWA warned that vital humanitarian supplies are almost exhausted.