Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are in the throes of a public health crisis after local officials announced the enclave’s first case of polio in more than two decades - a harrowing consequence of Israel’s months-long war that has destroyed key water and sanitation infrastructure. The Gaza Health Ministry said that a number of children have presented symptoms “consistent with polio” and that laboratory tests confirmed one of them - a 10-month-old child - was infected with the virus. It said the disease, which is highly contagious and can cause paralysis and death, would continue to spread unless there are “radical solutions” to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, including an end to the fighting.
The United Nations is now pushing for an urgent ceasefire - or at least a pause in hostilities - so it can co-ordinate two mass vaccination campaigns for more than 640,000 children. “It’s impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign amid a raging war,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Friday on X. “Let’s be clear: The ultimate vaccine for polio in Gaza is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
”.
