[News] Israeli army shields itself from polio virus as disease runs rampant in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Israeli army shields itself from poliovirus as disease runs rampant in Gaza

Dangerous illnesses have been spreading across the strip due to Israel's
decimation of infrastructure, including sewage lines

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

JUL 22, 2024 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/israeli-army-shields-itself-from-poliovirus-as-disease-runs-rampant-in-gaza
(Photo credit: Fadi Shana/Reuters)

The Israeli army launched a campaign on 21 July to provide its troops with
polio vaccines, as Palestinians are left unprotected against the virus that
has spread across the strip due to Israel’s genocidal war.

“The IDF carried out sampling tests in various areas where the remains of
the polio virus, which is contagious by drinking or coming into contact
with the mouth with contaminated water, were discovered,” the Israeli army
said in a press statement <https://www.idf.il/217723>.

“Following the findings, the IDF decided, in coordination with the Ministry
of Health, to vaccinate the maneuvering forces against the virus in order
to maintain the health of IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens,” the statement
added.

The campaign was launched by the army’s Technology and Logistics Division,
according to the statement, which said the vaccinations would be carried
out gradually.

It comes days after the Palestinian Health Ministry released a statement
warning
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/new-health-crisis-poliovirus-detected-in-gaza-sewage/>
of the presence of poliovirus in Gaza, which was found in sewage sampling
tests undertaken in coordination with UNICEF.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on 18 July in a statement that the
presence and spread of poliovirus is caused by the overcrowding of
displaced persons, the destruction of health and sanitation infrastructure,
and the shortages of medical and cleaning supplies.

It warned that this poses a threat to thousands of Gazans and called for an
immediate end to the war, the provision of safe water, and the repair of
sewage lines that were destroyed by Israeli forces.

Palestinian medical sources told *The New Arab*
<https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-launches-polio-vaccine-campaign-soldiers-gaza>
on Sunday that Israeli attacks on Gaza have destroyed more than 60 percent
of infrastructure, including desalination plants, which are out of service
due to the war.

The sources highlighted that the ravaged health sector in the strip suffers
from severe shortages of medicines and vaccines.

Responding to Israeli claims that hundreds of thousands of polio vaccines
have been allowed into the strip, Ismail Thawabta, director of the
Government Media Office in Gaza, told *The New Arab*, “All the Israeli
claims are not true … it seems that the Israeli authorities decided to kill
all the Palestinians in Gaza, either through the strikes or diseases and
starvation.”

“The virus in sewage portends a real health disaster and exposes thousands
of residents to the risk of contracting polio,” he went on to say.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and others have been warning about the
spread
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/10/how-bad-is-gazas-disease-outbreak-amid-the-israel-war>
of harmful bacteria and serious illnesses
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-faces-perfect-storm-deadly-diseases-2023-12-14/>
across the besieged enclave since the start of Israel’s war.
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