A deadly wave of meningitis has struck the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, where 35 children have been diagnosed in recent days. Doctors warn that the outbreak is just one symptom of a far deeper crisis, as Gaza’s shattered healthcare system crumbles under the weight of war, displacement, and blockade.

The cases are bacterial in nature, aggressive, fast-spreading, and dangerous. In overcrowded tents and makeshift shelters, where clean water and nutrition are scarce, children’s immune systems are too weak to resist. Many are being treated on hospital floors, with staff running out of antibiotics, beds, and even basic supplies.

Hospital officials describe the situation as catastrophic. The spread of meningitis threatens irreversible damage to children’s brains, senses, and mobility. Yet amid the siege, even the most urgent medical needs go unanswered.

This outbreak is not a natural disaster. It is the result of months of siege, bombing, and denial of aid, conditions deliberately engineered to break Gaza’s population. The Nasser Medical Complex’s desperate call for international support is not only a plea for medicine, but for justice. Without swift intervention, more children will fall, not just to disease, but to a system built to let them suffer in silence.