Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The US vetoed a UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing it does not condemn Hamas nor grant "Israel" the right to “self-defense.”
Israeli occupation forces issue a new bombing threat against civilian buildings in the Southern Lebanese towns of Borj Qalaouiye and Chehabiyeh.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Extending the snapback mechanism deadline will test how independent Europeans truly are from the US.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Activating the snapback mechanism will nullify the Cairo Agreement, shut the door on cooperation between the IAEA and Tehran, and bar inspections.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: The diplomatic window remains open, but signs of activating the snapback sanctions mechanism on Iran are increasing.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Although the Cairo Agreement meets an important part of European demands, they have begun speaking of new conditions in recent communications.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: European countries show no independence in their stance toward Iran during the talks.
Israeli occupation forces issued bombing threats to bomb civilian buildings in Southern Lebanon.
Israeli media: Person behind shooting operation at Allenby Crossing is a Jordanian Army soldier.
Israeli media citing Emergency Services: Both wounded in Allenby shooting operation now dead.

Doctors Without Borders blames 'Israel' for polio outbreak in Gaza

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: News websites
  • 3 Sep 2024 15:23
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

“The resurgence of polio in Gaza is a consequence of the continuous destruction of the infrastructure and health system by Israeli forces,” MSF said in a statement.

Listen
  • x
  • A nurse administers Polio vaccine drops to a young Palestinian patient at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 31, 2024. (AFP)
    A nurse administers polio vaccine drops to a young Palestinian patient at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 31, 2024. (AFP)

"Israel's" daily bombardment and destruction of Gaza's infrastructure are behind the poliovirus outbreak in the Strip, Doctors Without Borders said, urging for an immediate ceasefire.

“The resurgence of polio in Gaza is a consequence of the continuous destruction of the infrastructure and health system by Israeli forces,” the medical humanitarian organization said in a statement on Monday.

“The war has destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, forced people into unhygienic and appalling living conditions, and disrupted routine vaccinations—perfect conditions for diseases like polio to spread,” it added.

The statement from the organization, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), comes after the occupation agreed to eight-hour "humanitarian pauses" on designated sites in Gaza to enable vaccination campaigns for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children. 

The pauses began on Sunday and are expected to last for three days, and the vaccination campaigns aim to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10. Similar pauses will also occur in southern Gaza and northern Gaza.

The MSF described the vaccination initiatives as a "positive step," while highlighting “it is still a drop in the ocean compared to people's critical medical humanitarian needs.”

The organization also called for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire to ensure people in Gaza have proper access to aid and health care.”

Related News

Sudan crisis worsens: Cholera outbreak claims dozens in Darfur

Gaza crisis worsens amid surge in deadly antibiotic-resistant diseases

“The campaign and announcement of military pauses during the vaccination campaign should not divert attention from the relentless violence and its impact on the delivery of humanitarian aid,” MSF stated, emphasizing that “fewer than half of the hospitals in Gaza (16 of 36) are operational while people’s medical needs are greater than ever.”

The aid group reported its teams are providing logistical and organizational assistance to Gaza’s Health Ministry and the United Nations' vaccination campaign at five healthcare facilities in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

Polio resurgence threatens Gaza's children amid genocide

The first polio case was reported last week in a 10-month-old boy who is now paralyzed in one leg. He had not received any of the routine childhood vaccinations due to the ongoing Israeli carnage. According to the WHO, it is likely that hundreds of other people are already infected but asymptomatic, which poses a significant risk to hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza.

A highly complex vaccination campaign, led by the UN and local health authorities, is now underway to prevent the resurgence of polio in a new generation.

To stop the spread of the disease, at least 90% of Gaza’s 640,000 children under 10 need to be vaccinated with two drops of oral vaccine in two rounds, four weeks apart—a challenging goal in an active war zone where conditions are unpredictable.

A temporary pause in fighting from 6 am to 3 pm over the next few days has been reportedly agreed on to allow vaccination teams to visit 160 sites, starting in central Gaza and then moving to more difficult-to-reach areas. However, damaged or destroyed roads hinder the movement of healthcare workers, and aid workers and supplies have been targeted by Israeli bombings.

Last week, "Israel" killed four people in an airstrike that hit the front of a convoy carrying food and fuel to a hospital in Rafah, according to the American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) group.

The Chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared that the “best vaccine” for Gaza's children is “peace", coinciding with the launch of a polio vaccination campaign, Anadolu Agency reported.

“Children in Gaza are receiving much-needed polio vaccines today. Ultimately, the best vaccine for these children is peace,” Ghebreyesus said on X.

  • Palestine
  • Israel
  • Polio
  • Poliovirus
  • polio vaccine
  • Doctors Without Borders
  • Gaza
  • Israeli occupation
  • Israeli aggression
  • MSF
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS