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
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes
Israeli media outlet: Security incident reported in the Gaza Strip
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed

Gaza parents fear for children as polio threat adds to genocide

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 3 Sep 2024 09:50
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

Polio vaccination efforts are expected to face significant challenges following the re-emergence of the disease in the region, as the Israeli war machine has systemically destroyed Gaza's healthcare system.

Listen
  • x
  • An infant in Gaza receives much-needed polio vaccines on September 1, 2024. ( @DrTedros/ X)
    Children in Gaza receive their much-needed polio vaccines on September 1, 2024. (X/@DrTedros)

Like many others in Gaza, Eid al-Attar, a teacher from the northern part of the territory, now spends his days struggling to secure enough food and water to keep his family alive.

Forced to be forcibly displaced eight times since the Israeli war on Gaza erupted in October, the 42-year-old has done his best to protect his five children. Now, the Palestinian territory faces a new threat: the highly contagious and potentially deadly polio virus which had again spread due to the Israeli total blockade and systemically destroyed its healthcare system.

“We cannot protect our children. We are exposed to death at any moment due to the constant bombardment and insecurity. And I cannot protect them from diseases either,” he told The Guardian in Deir al-Balah on Sunday as a UN-led vaccination campaign got underway.

“We live in a tent, which does not protect us from anything, there are no medicines, there is garbage everywhere, and the streets are filled with wastewater,” he added.

"Israel’s" bombing campaign in Gaza has decimated the territory’s healthcare system, with 31 of 36 hospitals damaged or destroyed, according to the World Health Organization. About 90% of the 2.3 million people who live in the Gaza Strip have been forcibly displaced from their homes, with the majority living in very overcrowded, unsanitary makeshift camps. Hepatitis, pneumonia and diarrheal diseases such as dysentery, as well as scabies, lice, and debilitating rashes are already rife, the WHO said.

One of healthcare workers’ worst fears was confirmed last week when Gaza recorded its first case of type 2 polio in a quarter century. The contagious disease can cause paralysis and death, particularly in infants and young children.

Polio was eradicated from the Gaza Strip in 1999, but a strain was detected in routine wastewater testing in July. It is believed to have come from an oral polio vaccine, which contains a weakened live virus, and can in rare cases be shed by vaccinated people and evolve into a new, contagious form.

Read next: The Lancet estimates 'Israel' killed up to 186,000 Palestinians in war

Related News

Iran defends regional policies, warns of escalating aggression in Gaza

Gaza flattened for pay, not need: IOF reward operators for each ruin

Polio resurgence threatens Gaza's children amid genocide

The first 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.

Initial reporting for day 1 of the #polio vaccination campaign show over 86,000 children received a vaccine yesterday.

I admire the courage and determination of the families, the vaccinators and the health workers involved in the campaign.

We call on all parties to continue… pic.twitter.com/tenbAYrslk

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) September 2, 2024

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.

'We are suffering a lot'

Nabil al-Hasanat, 50, a father of two daughters, ages six and five months, expressed his distress: “We are all suffering a lot. I am glad I can do one thing to protect my children.”

Despite the progress in the polio vaccination campaign, the broader humanitarian crisis persists with no immediate resolution in ceasefire negotiations as "Israel" is seemingly undermining efforts to reach a deal.

Jose Lainez Kafati, a social and behavior change specialist at Unicef Palestine, said as quoted by The Guardian that “Polio is just one of the many problems the children of Gaza are facing.”

He added, “While we have managed to start the polio vaccination, there are other serious problems that are still unattended by the lack of access to aid. The total breakdown of the healthcare system, the almost complete destruction of sanitation and water infrastructure, as well as the living conditions of families who no longer have a home, makes them vulnerable to other disease outbreaks.”

  • war on Gaza
  • Gaza healthcare
  • Israeli aggression
  • Gaza genocide
  • Israeli occupation
  • Israeli war crimes
  • polio vaccine
  • total blockade
  • Gaza health ministry
  • Palestinains
  • Polio
  • Gaza children
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

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