Dear [Elected Official /Candidate’s Name],
I am writing to urgently call for sanctions against Israel to enforce an immediate ceasefire to address the severe risk of disease threatening the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, as a direct result of Israel’s ongoing siege and bombardment. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 150,000 people in Gaza have contracted skin diseases due to the squalid conditions in which displaced people have been forced to live.
Due to their mass displacement amidst Israel’s continued airstrikes and ground assaults, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now living in makeshift camps without basic sanitary facilities, leading to the rampant spread of infections and diseases. In the early weeks of the bombardment, parents would wash their children in the Mediterranean, but the collapse of basic facilities has now filled the sea with sewage. The numbers are staggering, with over 96,000 cases of scabies, 9,274 cases of chickenpox, 60,130 cases of skin rashes, and 10,038 cases of impetigo reported.
Gaza’s children are particularly vulnerable to disease as their immune systems are compromised by the widespread malnutrition gripping the Gaza Strip. The collapse of healthcare means that children who contract these diseases are not receiving the necessary medication.
The WHO has reported 485,000 cases of diarrhoea, a number that continues to rise due to accumulating garbage and sewage across the Gaza Strip, combined with hot temperatures and a lack of clean water. Families in Gaza face growing health risks from exposure to sewage and waste, with children wading through contaminated water and climbing over growing mounds of garbage.
This desperate situation calls for immediate intervention. Sanctions against Israel must be enforced to compel a ceasefire and halt the bombardment, ensuring the protection of civilian lives and the restoration of essential services, including healthcare sanitation and humanitarian aid.
I urge you to take immediate action to address this catastrophe and prevent further loss of life. The international community must take decisive action to protect the people of Gaza, and ensure they have access to the medical care and sanitation they desperately need.
Your constituent,
[Your Name]
[Full Address]