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STORY: WHO / GAZA WEATHER HEALTH IMPACT
TRT: 05:44
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 MARCH 2026, AL-MAWASI, KHAN YOUNIS, AND 25 MARCH 2026, DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA
1. Wide shot, showing a busy road near the camp
2. Wide shot, numerous makeshift tents
3. Med shot, man fixing a tent
4. Med shot, a boy fixing a tent
5. Med shot, Ni’mat Al-Masri in a small makeshift kitchen area
6. Med shot, Ni’mat Al-Masri washing a blue bowl
7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ni’mat Al-Masri:
“This tent is not protecting us from anything, not from fleas, not from insects, rain, coldness or heat. We are suffering from everything. Flea bites are all over my daughters’ bodies, their bodies are filled with bumps; and when we go to get them treatment, they tell us “We don’t know, and that there’s no treatment available,” but it’s eventually affecting our children and us. Secondly, the tent is not stable and has fallen on us due to rain, storms, and heavy winds. Water is even coming from left and right, and there’s not enough space for the ten people, we are ten and this tiny space is not enough for us, and the tent is always filled with water, and I have no idea what to do.”
8. Close up, a discarded plastic bottle surrounded by litter
9. Med shot, some pita bread and red sauce in a metal bowl
10. Med shot, Ni’mat Al-Masri with her son
11. Med shot, a girl standing in the tent
12. Wide shot, five children under a blanket
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ni’mat Al-Masri:
“Honestly, the health situation is completely terrible, my kids are almost always sick, and I am suffering myself as well: fever or stomachache. My daughters are also always sick; we have not been happy since the day we have arrived here.”
14. Wide shot, numerous makeshift tents
15. Wide shot, Mervat Saleh Sheikh Al-Eid under a tarpaulin with water dripping
16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mervat Saleh Sheikh Al-Eid:
“Let’s not talk about summer conditions as everyone is aware of them. Winter conditions are tragic, as you can see, the tents can’t be called worn out, but even worse. The tents are barely holding up; it’s not protecting us not from summer heat nor from the rain or the cold in winter. The wind destroyed the tents, every time we fix it, it doesn’t hold up. We are trying our best to survive this life, but it’s not we working. It’s all in vain.”
17. Med shot, side of tent moving in the wind
18. UPSOUND (Arabic) Mervat Saleh Sheikh Al-Eid:
“This is rotted, we are living a dilemma here: if we escape the rain that’s causing the rotting, we are suffering from the rats, if we escape the rats, the rain comes and causes rot, there’s no escape.”
19. Med shot, tent ceiling billowing in the wind
20. Med shot, tent entrance ripped
21. Med shot, tent corners with a large gap stuffed with a towel
22. Med shot, clothes on a wire
23. Med shot, a small storage area with food, bottles and bowls
24. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mervat Saleh Sheikh Al-Eid:
“Honestly, we're suffering from the flu and from flea infestation. We are basically under attack by rats and fleas. We spray but it’s not working. It’s sand in the tent and it’s basically absorbing everything we spray. It’s not working. We also don’t have anything to spray but regardless of that, whatever you spray the sand absorbs it.”
25. Wide shot, a tent with a small solar panel
26. Wide shot, a busy local street with people, donkeys and cars
27. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Ahmed Al-Farra, Director, Maternity and Paediatrics Department, Nasser Medical Complex:
“Many children are arriving at the emergency departments in large and often unknown numbers. They are suffering from respiratory distress and difficulty breathing due to the changing weather, the spread of severe viruses, and the rubble and dust in the streets, as well as the destruction of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.”
28. Various shots, insect bites on legs
29. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Ahmed Al-Farra, Director, Maternity and Paediatrics Department, Nasser Medical Complex:
“It should also be noted that many diseases are still prevalent in the tents, such as skin diseases caused by insect bites, like dermatitis, and gastroenteritis. In other words, the effects of the war continue to impact the people of the Gaza Strip as long as there is such a large displacement and most people are living in tents.”
30. Wide shot, a busy local street with people, cars and tents
25 MARCH 2026, DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA
31. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Luca Pigozzi, Acting in charge, Gaza Office, WHO:
“The communities in Gaza are still very vulnerable to several hazards. For example, meteorological conditions, heavy rains, and sandstorms that affected the Strip in the last weeks.”
21 MARCH 2026, MAKESHIFT CAMP, AL-MAWASI, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA
32. Med shot, rubbish on the ground
25 MARCH 2026, DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA
33. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Luca Pigozzi, Acting in charge, Gaza Office, WHO:
“We are also very much concerned about hygiene and water conditions, which are affecting the livelihood and the safety of the communities.”
21 MARCH 2026, MAKESHIFT CAMP, AL-MAWASI, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA
34. Wide shot, tents billowing in the wind
25 MARCH 2026, DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA
35. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Luca Pigozzi, Acting in charge, Gaza Office, WHO:
“All these hazards are having a direct effect on the public health in Gaza.”
21 MARCH 2026, MAKESHIFT CAMP, AL-MAWASI, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA
36. Wide shot, a road near the camp with people and cars
Cold and rainy weather, severe overcrowding, deteriorating shelters and poor water and sanitation conditions have created a high disease-transmission environment across Gaza. Respiratory infections remain the most commonly reported condition, followed by acute watery diarrhea and ectoparasitic infestations, including scabies, lice, ticks and fleas.
Critical shortages of hygiene kits, insecticides and scabies treatments are severely limiting the response. Many essential items have been denied entry and stocks are nearly depleted, with partners only able to carry out targeted distributions as supplies trickle in. An urgent scale-up of lice kits, insecticides, hygiene kits and soap is needed to prevent further escalation.
