THE BULLETIN
THE WAR IN GAZA IS ENTERING ITS sixth month and its third season. More than 30,000 people have been killed there since the Israeli offensive answering Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, and some 1.9 million displaced people have endured homelessness in punishing winter weather, marked by heavy rain and low temperatures. And while many may greet the arrival of spring as a reprieve from the cold, experts warn that the higher temperatures come with their own set of challenges—ones that stand to make the situation in Gaza even worse.
DISEASE THREAT Higher temperatures, besides bringing relief from the cold, can accelerate the spread of communicable diseases, such as diarrhea and hepatitis A. “It’s the perfect environment for a massive epidemic to take hold,” warns Francesco Checchi, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who specializes in disease control in crisis. Among Checchi’s top concerns is that warmer weather could lead to a cholera outbreak, noting that Gaza’s decimated health care system doesn’t have the resources to cope with illnesses that require extensive rehydration.
MALNUTRITION Perhaps the most acute crisis is the dire shortfall of food and other humanitarian aid entering the Strip—conditions the U.N. and others have warned will make famine “almost inevitable.” Fozia Alvi, a Canadian physician who recently returned from a medical trip to Gaza, tells TIME she witness
