“We have no tests to determine what caused the virus,” the doctor said in a statement.

He explained that its symptoms include high body temperature, joint pain, runny nose, and cough accompanied by bouts of diarrhea that last more than a week.

Its spread is due to immunodeficiency resulting from malnutrition, in addition to a lack of drinking water, cleaning supplies, and overcrowding in tents, he stressed.

Abu Salmiya warned that the virus is increasing the pressure on an already overburdened health system and emphasized that stopping the war in Gaza will put an end to all these problems.

The territory’s Ministry of Health stated this week that more than 500,000 children under the age of five are at risk of epidemics in the Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression.

In statements to the Safa news agency, Ayman Abu Rahma, director of the ministry’s preventive medicine department, explained that the renewed military attacks have led to a significant increase in the spread of infectious diseases due to repeated displacements and the complete collapse of the health system.

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