A deadly meningitis outbreak is sweeping through Gaza, claiming the health of hundreds of children while the healthcare system lies in ruins. Doctors across the Strip are warning of a disaster they can no longer contain, as Israeli bombardment and siege continue to suffocate any chance of a medical response.

Hospitals once bustling with life now echo with cries of desperation. Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in Gaza City has registered over 300 cases in recent days, while facilities in Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis are reporting dozens more, all in children, many under five. But medicine is scarce, testing kits are almost nonexistent, and doctors are forced to make impossible choices.

“We are powerless,” said one paediatrician in central Gaza. “Every hour we lose a child, not because the disease is untreatable, but because the world has abandoned them.”

Living conditions in overcrowded shelters, now home to over 1.5 million displaced Palestinians—are worsening the spread. Children weakened by hunger and thirst are packed into tents with no sanitation, no clean water, and no privacy. In these conditions, infection moves faster than the doctors can.

The outbreak is not just a health crisis. It is the brutal outcome of a war waged not only with bombs, but with blockade and neglect. And the smallest bodies are bearing the greatest burden.