Raseel, a six-year-old girl with severe injuries, has spent two months at Nasser Hospital in Gaza. She has a serious fracture in her right leg, infected wounds on her legs and hand, and a piece of shrapnel lodged in her brain. Doctors say she needs a skin graft, but her wounds must begin to heal first, and the infections have not responded to the antibiotics available in Gaza. They have repeatedly reopened and cleaned the wounds, more than 20 times.

A doctor from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) treating Raseel said the wounds contain bacteria resistant to several medicines. He added that hospitals across Gaza are seeing high rates of antibiotic-resistant infections and are isolating some patients to limit the risk to health facilities.

A preliminary study shared with the BBC points to widespread resistance to key antibiotics in Gaza. Researchers analyzed nearly 80,000 bacterial samples collected from 11 hospitals over ten years, from 2015 to 2025. The authors describe it as the largest analysis of antimicrobial resistance in Gaza to date, but the findings have not yet undergone peer review.

Researchers said damage to water and sanitation systems during conflict can create conditions that help infections spread. The consequences for patients can be severe, including infections that become difficult or impossible to treat. The MSF doctor warned that infections reaching the bones can lead to more amputations in the coming years.

Raseel was sleeping with her family in a tent in the al-Mawasi camp near Khan Yunis when an Israeli helicopter airstrike struck the area on July 30, according to witnesses. Her nine-year-old sister and a 20-year-old cousin were killed, while her mother and brother were seriously injured. Israeli forces said they had no record of an attack at that time or place.

The article also describes the risks faced by displaced families living amid damaged sanitation systems and limited access to clean water. The United Nations says Israel has destroyed or damaged nearly 90% of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure. A UN report published in July said more than 80% of households lacked safe access to water, and up to 70% could not obtain even six litres per person per day for drinking and cooking. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories disputes those figures, saying water supplied to Gaza exceeds the UN’s emergency minimum.

With waste collection largely halted, rubbish, human waste and contaminated pools of water have accumulated near crowded camps. Rodents and weasels are reported in many of the sites. A survey published in April by the Site Management Cluster found that rodents or other pests were frequently seen at 81% of locations housing displaced families, affecting about 1.45 million people. People have reported being bitten while asleep, sometimes suffering serious injuries.

Rana al-Dahnoun, 14, said her father, Basel, lost his right leg below the knee after weasels attacked him as he slept. She found the family’s sleeping mats covered in blood and rushed him to hospital. According to Rana, a shortage of medical supplies meant staff could not treat or even dress the wound, and doctors eventually amputated his leg. Aid organizations and health workers told the BBC that basic medicines and medical equipment are in short supply.

Raseel’s condition remains serious. Doctors say it is not yet safe to remove the shrapnel in her brain; she cannot walk and has begun having seizures. Her father, Mahmoud al-Balawi, told the BBC he feared she could die if she remained in Gaza. He and Raseel eventually received permission to travel to Egypt with support from the World Health Organization. She was taken to a hospital near Cairo and was awaiting transfer to a better-equipped facility in the capital.

The Gaza Health Ministry says about 5,600 children are waiting to be transferred abroad for medical treatment. Such transfers require a referral from the ministry, acceptance by a country willing to receive the patient, and Israeli security approval. While at Nasser Hospital, Raseel received a doll from a cousin and named it Rateel, after her sister who was killed.

Sources: Folha Mundo.