‘The rat gnawed at my toes’: Rodent infestation overruns Gaza’s displaced

‘The rat gnawed at my toes’: Rodent infestation overruns Gaza’s displaced Submitted by Nada Nabil on Fri, 04/10/2026 - 12:10 Palestinians describe nightly attacks by rodents in displacement tents as authorities warn of a worsening public health crisis Inshirah Hajjaj, 63, was hospitalised after rodents bit her feet as she slept in her tent in Gaza City (MEE/Hani Abu Rezeq) Off Inshirah Hajjaj was trying to sleep in her tent in Gaza City, ignoring a mouse scuttling near her pillow, when a large rat began gnawing at her toes. The 63-year-old, who suffers from advanced diabetes that has left her with little sensation in her extremities, did not initially realise she had been bitten. It was only the following morning that her sister-in-law noticed the wound and was horrified.