A 10-month-old child in Deir al-Balah, Gaza has been diagnosed as having polio, according to the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) in a statement released on Friday August 23. This is the first confirmed case to emerge in Gaza in over 25 years.

According to the head of WHO, Terdos Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the infant’s lower left leg has been paralysed; however the child is now in a “stable condition”.

Initial reports of polio in Gaza surfaced last June, when traces of the virus were detected in wastewater. Now, the UN is calling for a 1-week pause on Israel’s military operations, hoping to vaccinate over 640,000 children.

The Polio Virus

The polio virus is a highly infectious disease, principally spreading through contact with infected faecal matter or contaminated food and water. It tends to affect children under the age of 10, but can also spread to adults.

Polio attacks the nervous system, potentially leading to spinal or respiratory paralysis, which can be fatal.

The World Health Assembly initiated a widespread vaccination campaign in 1988 to eliminate the disease. Since 1988, the number of reported cases of polio have been reduced by over 99 percent. The return of polio in Gaza

Catherine Russel, the Executive Director of UNICEF stated that the return of polio in Gaza was “another sobering reminder of how chaotic, desperate and dangerous the situation has become.”

The UN’s Plan

In the one-week long pause, the UN aims to administer over 1.6 million vaccines utilising USD 400,000 of protective medical gear, some of which have already reached hospitals in Gaza. 708 teams from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) are to administer the vaccinations across the remaining functional health facilities.

However, the UN may face endemic obstacles in this process. Transporting the vaccines requires storing them at cooler temperatures, which may be difficult given Gaza’s inconsistent supply of electricity. Only around 16 hospitals and 50 care facilities remain operational, approximately half of Gaza’s prior medical capacity.

Israel’s actions

The disruption to child vaccination programmes and destruction of sanitation systems caused by Israel’s onslaught has contributed to the re-emergence of the virus.

Constant evacuation orders issued by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) disrupt the delivery of aid. Muhannad Hadi, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, asserted that “If evacuation orders are meant to protect civilians, the fact is that they are leading to the exact opposite.They are forcing families to flee again […] into an ever-shrinking area that is overcrowded, polluted, with limited services and – like the rest of Gaza – unsafe.”

The IDF claimed on Sunday 18 August that they have provided Gaza with over 2.8 million doses of the polio vaccine.

Dr. Majed Jaber, a physician in Gaza speaking with TIME magazine, noted that “the Israelis have been strict with access to hygiene products, including soap, toilet wraps, cleaning products, and towels. They have turned them into luxury products most cannot afford.”

The latest war on Gaza started following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed and 250 hostages kidnapped. Since then, Israel has occupied and striked Gaza repeatedly to eradicate Hamas. Currently, the Palestinian death toll stands at over 40,000, many of whom are children.