For months, health care representatives have warned that Israel destroyed sanitary infrastructure in the Gaza Strip may cause Increase in infectious diseaseswhich was visible during last year's polio epidemic. Currently, doctors report an increase in the incidence of acute flabby paralysis, a rare syndrome of symptoms that cause muscle weakness that may hinder breathing and swallowing.
“Cases in the Gaza Strip include acute flabby spinal cord inflammation, which mainly affects children, and a better known team of Guillain-Barré,” explains Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatric department at the Nasser hospital at Chan Junus in the Gaza Strip.
He added that before October 2023, sharp flabby paralysis was “something strange and very rare”, with one or two cases a year. However, according to Al-Farry in the last three months Doctors recorded almost 100 cases.
Laboratory samples sent to Jordan and Israel gave a positive result for the presence of enterovirus, a group of bacteria transferred between people or through contaminated water. Enteroviruses, which also belong to the polio virus, are usually transmitted by a fecal and resource road. Al-Farra emphasized that it is not a surprise that one of the foci is Chan Junus, where unwashed sewage accumulates on the streets.
Pressure on Israel is growing
International criticism against Israel is growing. The Vice -President of the European Commission Teresa Ribera said at the beginning of this month in an interview with Politico that Israel's behavior in the Gaza Strip “It resembles “genocide. Israel rejects this accusation.
A statement of the World Health Organization states that until July 31 there were 32 cases of acute flaccid palsy among children under 15 years of age. WHO said that this increase is partly due to better monitoring, but also reflects Creation of water and sanitary infrastructure, malnutrition and limited access to healthcare.
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In almost 70 percent Samples sent to the tests were the cause of non -polio enterovirus, compared to 26 percent. In previous years, WHO said.
The statement stated that “clinical assessment is currently extremely difficult in the Gaza Zone due to the inability to diagnostic, laboratory and research.”
Doctors also claim that they have little patient treatment. The staff of the Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip, mostly destroyed by Israel at the beginning of 2024, has so far diagnosed 22 cases of Guillain-Barré team, said the director of the hospital Muhammed Abu Salmiya. Three patients died, Au 12 paralysis developed and were directed to rehabilitation centers.
“We don't have access to treatment”
Treatment of acute flabby spinal inflammation and Guillain-Barré syndrome includes intravenous administration of immunoglobulins-antibodies that neutralize infection-or replacement of plasma, consisting in blood filtering. None of these methods is easily available in the Gaza Strip, Where due to the Israeli blockade there is a chronic deficiency of basic medical means.
“Unfortunately, we don't have access to such treatment methods,” said Salmiya.
-Doctors in Gaza turned to their colleagues working as volunteers in foreign organizations with a request to bring plasma filters, but they are often confiscated by the Israeli authorities-said Al-Farra.
Palestinians are trying to fill the canisters with water from a tanker belonging to the humanitarian organization, which came to the city of Chan Junus in the Gaza Strip, on August 18, 2025.Abed Rahim Khatib / Anadol Agency / Anadol Agency via AFP / AFP
Until the publication of the article, the Israeli government did not respond to Politico's request for comment.
Al-Farra explained that children in the Gaza Strip are particularly vulnerable to this disease with due to mass hunger and the lack of vitamins necessary for nerve regeneration. “Nobody has enough vitamins B1, B6 and B12,” Al-Farra pointed out. This is because “there is no fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, yogurt, there is nothing.”
The number of hunger victims is growing
After Hamas' attacks, in which about 1,000 people in Israel, the Israeli authorities, were killed on October 7, 2023 seriously limited food supply to the Gaza Stripwhich led to chronic malnutrition and mass hunger.
According to healthcare representatives, 188 people, mostly children, have died of hunger in the Gaza Strip from October 2023. The Ministry of Health of the Gaza Zone, which is part of the government managed by Hamas, keeps a detailed record of victims, considered by independent experts to be generally credible.
The United Nations estimates that at least 1 thousand 373 Palestinians died in search of food, including 859 in centers led by Israel supported by Israel and the United States Humanitarian Foundation in the Gaza Strip.
In December 2024, Amnesty International, citing Israel's blockade and the destruction of sanitary infrastructure in its report, stated that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Israel Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu said that his government intends to continue actions aimed at taking control of the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice has already ruled that the occupation of this territory by Israel is illegal.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
