Geneva, September 01 (QNA) - The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday of concerns arising from the approaching rainy season in the Gaza Strip and the potential exacerbation of health risks it could cause.

The organization added that the vast majority of Gazans continue to live in extremely difficult conditions.

Reinhilde Van de Weerdt, the WHO's representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, said that while the WHO is still unable to provide the minimum quantities of water they need, water quality and contamination remain a major issue in Gaza.

She noted that this has led to a marked increase in cases of acute diarrhea during the same period, with the number of cases doubling from 27,000 in March to more than 48,000 last August.

The rainy season and winter are approaching rapidly, and the majority of Gaza's population continues to live in extremely overcrowded camps and temporary tents, Van de Weerdt continued.

She added that piles of garbage have accumulated to several meters in height, predicting that rainfall would flood the overcrowded camps and spread sewage, waste and contaminated water into the places where residents sleep, prepare their food and care for their children, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.

Van de Weerdt also predicted that pests, mosquitoes and bacteria would proliferate in the Strip during the upcoming rainy season, stressing that Gaza's already dilapidated health system is unable to cope with disease outbreaks.

She stressed the urgent need for more permanent shelters, sustainable water supplies, both in terms of quantity and quality, and waste-management systems, in addition to meeting the needs of laboratories to quickly determine the causes of diseases.

The Israeli occupation continues to ban the entry of essential laboratory and diagnostic supplies into Gaza, including the reagents needed for testing, the official noted.

The WHO also revealed that microbiological contamination in Gaza had tripled between January and August, as demonstrated by the analysis of more than 6,700 water samples, noting that contamination rose from around 6% in January to more than 18% in August.

It called on the Israeli occupation to expedite the entry of medicines and essential supplies into the Strip on a wide scale and without impediment. (QNA)