UK-based charity Oxfam has warned about the crippling healthcare situation posed by the deliberate blockade of aid by Israel, with waterborne diseases increasing nearly 150 per cent inside the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.

Oxfam said that the Palestinian enclave has become a “petri dish of disease” due to the blockade of aid, while millions of dollars of humanitarian aid pile up in warehouses across the region.

“Water-borne diseases that are both preventable and readily treatable have increased by almost 150pc inside Gaza over the past three months as Israel continues to deliberately block aid,” it noted.

Oxfam warned that the surge of disease can “quickly turn deadly”, especially as Palestinians have been deprived of food, water, shelter, and adequate healthcare for more than 21 months.