Underground hospitals across Israel are reportedly being faced with overcrowding issues and the spread of diseases, as thousands of Israelis are either receiving treatment or sheltering amid the country’s war on Iran with the US, local media reported.
Doctors have told Haaretz that the situation in underground hospitals is "catastrophic and chaotic" due to issues such as the lack of cleanliness , a lack of adequate equipment, and overcrowding, which has led to the complete breakdown of basic hygiene rules.
Doctors also pointed to a lack of designated staff rooms, and shortage of beds and showers, which have seriously deteriorated the sanitary situation in such compounds, with the presence of only two showers per dozens of patients, little distance between toilets and beds, and with medical staff resorting to using foldable chairs and tables instead, as factors leading to a number of infections.
Underground compounds, which are mostly car parks, have been converted to hospitals amid the conflict, as Israel has done during similar events.
On Sunday, the Israeli Ministry of Health said one person was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis after spending six days in the hospital's underground hospitalisation compound. Around 750 people were exposed to the infection, the ministry said, as well as 1,900 immunocompromised staff members and visitors.
A measles outbreak is also likely, an infection expert told Haaretz , which Israel was already facing before the start of the war in Iran.
The expert said exposure to measles in an underground compound "necessitates a lot of energy" and procedures such as tracing of all contacts, and treatment for immunocompromised and unvaccinated patients, which could prove challenging amid the situation in the underground hospitals.
Several cases have already been reported, particularly at the Maayanei Hayeshua and Shamir medical centres.
The Maayanei Hayeshua medical centre is located in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv.
On Monday, the city was targeted by a salvo of Iranian missiles, wounding around 14 people.
The Health Ministry has been made aware of the risk of diseases spreading in these compounds, Haaretz added.
Since 28 February, Israel and the US have led a joint operation in Iran, striking the country on a daily basis, and have killed between 2,000 and 3,492 Iranians since, in a war largely considered illegal under international law.
Iran has retaliated against both the US and Israel with missile launches. At least 19 people have been killed in Israel since.