A 10-month-old boy in Gaza, paralyzed by polio, has become the first confirmed case of the disease in the besieged city in 25 years. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), expressed serious concern, noting that the infant from Deir Al Balah developed paralysis in his lower left leg but is currently stable.
In response to the high risk of poliovirus spread, Palestinian health authorities, along with the WHO and UNICEF, are planning two rounds of polio vaccinations in the coming weeks to prevent further transmission.
This announcement coincides with warnings from the UN’s top aid official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, about the impact of mass evacuations in Gaza. He stated that such orders “choke (people’s) survival” and severely limit aid efforts. In August, Israeli forces issued 12 evacuation orders, displacing nearly 250,000 people. Hadi emphasized that instead of protecting civilians, these orders are forcing families to flee into overcrowded and unsafe areas with few resources.
Repeated displacements have hindered access to essential services, including medical care and water supplies. Health experts have attributed the crisis to the destruction of Gaza’s health and sanitation infrastructure. The polio case was reported shortly after the WHO raised alarms about poliovirus found in Gaza’s wastewater.
Julia Bleckner, a senior health and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, warned, “If the Israeli government continues to block urgent aid and destroy water and waste management infrastructure, it will facilitate the spread of a disease that has been nearly eradicated globally.” She called for Israel’s partners to urge the government to lift the blockade and allow unrestricted humanitarian access to ensure timely vaccine distribution to address the polio outbreak.
Sources: UN – Al-Jazeera