In the sprawling tent camps of the Gaza Strip that house hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, another threat has begun to emerge from the rubble and garbage: rats.
Across the war-torn Gaza , families say rodents are increasingly entering displacement tents at night, raising alarm among residents and health officials who warn that the collapse of sanitation services and the accumulation of waste have created fertile ground for infestations.
Adam al-Ostaz, a 30-day-old newborn baby, was bitten by a rat inside his family's tent in Gaza City .
"I woke up suddenly to his screams in the middle of the night. The tent was completely dark. When I turned on a flashlight, I saw blood on his face," his mother recalled to The New Arab .
She said she immediately woke her husband, and the two began searching inside the small tent.
"After a few moments, we found a large rat hiding under the table," she said. "That's when we realised it had bitten the baby."
The infant was rushed to the hospital, where doctors treated him for complications resulting from the bite.
According to his mother, medical staff told the family that stabilising the newborn was "a race against time."
"I never imagined I would fear for my child because of a rat […] We used to fear planes and bombing, but now we are not even safe inside the tent," she said. Thriving amid rubble and waste Rodents are known carriers of several dangerous diseases, including hantavirus, leptospirosis, plague, salmonella, and tularemia. These illnesses can be transmitted through bites, contaminated food and water, or parasites such as fleas and ticks that live on the animals.
The risks are particularly acute in displacement camps, where more than a million people are living in cramped conditions and where children already suffer from widespread malnutrition and weakened immune systems.
The rapid spread of rodents is closely linked to the environmental collapse that has accompanied Israel's war on Gaza since October 2023.
Entire neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble, while municipal services in many areas have largely ceased to function.
Mountains of uncollected waste now line streets and displacement areas, creating ideal conditions for rodents and insects to thrive.
Residents across the territory say rats have become a common sight near tents, food supplies, and makeshift kitchens, adding that some of the rodents now appearing are larger and more aggressive than those commonly seen before Israel's genocidal war.
Some residents have even said that these rats could have been deliberately introduced into the Strip by Israeli forces during the conflict, as part of what they describe as an "environmental war" aimed at worsening living conditions for the population. Particular concern has focused on what some residents believe to be Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), a species known for its size, adaptability, and ability to spread disease.
These accusations have not been officially verified or confirmed by any scientific or international body.
Meanwhile, environmental advocates say several factors have been combined to accelerate the infestation.
Municipalities have been unable to access major landfill sites located near Gaza's eastern border areas due to attacks by the Israeli army, forcing waste to pile up inside urban districts and near displacement camps.
At the same time, damage to sewage infrastructure has led to groundwater contamination and open wastewater flows in some locations.
Another factor frequently mentioned by residents is the presence of bodies buried beneath collapsed buildings that remain difficult to reach due to continued bombardment and the scale of destruction. As decomposition progresses, insects and rodents are naturally drawn to such areas.
Under these circumstances, rats have begun to move beyond abandoned buildings and alleyways, increasingly entering the tents where displaced families sleep. Sleepless nights In al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza , Um Mohammed al-Kharraz now lives with her family after fleeing their home in the north of the Strip.
Their tent stands close to piles of garbage and discarded food, conditions she says attract rodents every night.
"We barely sleep as we constantly hear noises around the tent, and sometimes we feel something moving close to the children," she told TNA .
A few days earlier, she said that she witnessed a moment that deepened her fears.
"I saw a large rat come out of a sack of flour inside the tent," she recalled. "I screamed, and it ran away quickly, but since then I haven't felt safe."
She now stays awake late into the night, checking on her children.
"My children sleep on the ground […] I keep thinking about what happened to baby Adam, and I'm terrified the same thing could happen here," she added. "I try to lift food off the ground and close the bags tightly, but the tent is open from many sides. The rats can get in easily."
Palestinian health officials warn that the spread of rodents could lead to serious health consequences if left unchecked.
Palestinian Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan recently warned that the widespread destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, combined with the accumulation of rubble, uncollected waste, and disrupted sanitation systems, has created conditions highly conducive to the rapid reproduction and spread of rats.
He emphasised that the rodents are not confined to abandoned buildings or streets, but are increasingly infiltrating tents, homes, and makeshift kitchens, placing children and vulnerable populations at heightened risk.
The minister also noted that the lack of access to essential pest-control materials, coupled with stagnant water and sewage contamination, has further accelerated the infestation, turning what was once a manageable environmental problem into an urgent public health concern.
He called on the international community to pressure Israel to allow the entry of pesticides and other essential materials into Gaza to help control the infestation and protect public health.|