A rapidly spreading chickenpox outbreak is worsening Gaza’s health emergency, with thousands of infections recorded among displaced families living in overcrowded tents as hospitals simultaneously confront critical shortages of cancer medicines.

The outbreak has been concentrated in displacement areas such as Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, where families live in cramped shelters with limited access to clean water, soap, toilets and waste collection services.

Doctors at Nasser Medical Complex say they are receiving dozens of chickenpox patients each day, most of them children.

Medical teams are struggling to contain transmission because infected children often share a single tent with large families, making isolation almost impossible.

Chickenpox is highly contagious and can spread through respiratory droplets or direct contact with fluid from the skin’s blisters. Infected people can transmit the virus before the rash appears and remain contagious until the lesions have crusted.

The intense summer heat has added to the suffering of infected children, many of whom experience severe itching while living inside poorly ventilated tents.

Parents face difficulty keeping children isolated for extended periods, particularly when families must leave their shelters to collect water, food and other essential supplies.

More Than 9,300 Cases in Two Weeks

Nearly 9,300 suspected chickenpox cases were recorded across more than 130 health facilities during a two-week period, reflecting an unusually rapid acceleration in transmission.

More than half of the recorded cases were in Khan Younis, which includes the densely populated displacement areas of Al-Mawasi.

Health officials have linked the outbreak to extreme overcrowding, deteriorating water and sanitation services, waste accumulation, shortages of hygiene supplies and rising summer temperatures.

Gaza currently has more than 1,600 active displacement sites hosting approximately 1.7 million people.

Rodents and external parasites have been reported in 83% of assessed displacement sites, further increasing the risk of skin infections and other communicable diseases.

Around 5,000 cases of different skin conditions are now being recorded every week. Health workers warn that once an infection appears inside a crowded shelter, hundreds of cases can emerge within a short period.

Health authorities have increasingly relied on social media to explain isolation practices and basic methods of managing chickenpox because limited resources have reduced their ability to conduct large-scale awareness campaigns inside the camps.

Cancer Treatment Protocols Suspended

The outbreak is unfolding as Gaza’s hospitals experience an unprecedented shortage of essential medicines, including life-saving treatments for cancer patients.

Several chemotherapy and supportive medicines have completely run out, while supplies of other specialised drugs have fallen to critically low levels.

The shortages have forced medical teams to suspend standard chemotherapy protocols for patients with breast, colorectal, gastrointestinal, head and neck cancers, as well as sarcomas.

Some oncology departments are no longer able to accept newly diagnosed breast cancer patients because the medicines required to begin treatment are unavailable.

The shortage of specialised drugs also prevents medical teams from preparing combined chemotherapy treatments.

Supportive injections normally administered after chemotherapy are unavailable, leaving patients with weakened immune systems more vulnerable to serious infections and other complications.

Hospitals are also facing shortages of painkillers and palliative medicines used to ease the suffering of patients with advanced cancer.

Thousands Waiting to Leave Gaza

Approximately 11,000 cancer patients are believed to require treatment in Gaza. More than 4,000 have medical referrals for treatment abroad but remain unable to travel.

The lack of chemotherapy medicines, radiotherapy equipment and specialised diagnostic devices means that many patients cannot receive the care they need inside the territory.

For cancer patients, every delayed treatment session increases the risk of disease progression and reduces the likelihood of successful treatment.

Health authorities have called for urgent international intervention to secure the entry of essential medicines, restore cancer treatment protocols and facilitate the evacuation of patients requiring care unavailable in Gaza.

Without sustained access to medical supplies, clean water and adequate sanitation, health workers warn that both the chickenpox outbreak and the crisis facing cancer patients will continue to worsen.