Gaza declared polio epidemic zone amid ongoing aggression

Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza declared Monday the Gaza Strip a polio epidemic zone, warning that their anti-epidemic efforts will be insufficient unless the ongoing aggression ceases.

In a statement received by Roya on Monday, the ministry explained that after years of eradicating polio in Palestine, the dire conditions in Gaza—caused by the brutal Israeli Occupation aggression—have led to a resurgence.

Israeli Occupation has deprived residents of potable water, destroyed sanitation infrastructure, accumulated thousands of tons of garbage, caused food insecurity, and overcrowded displacement sites.

Recently, the CVPV2 poliovirus was detected in sewage water in the Khan Yunis and Middle governorates, prompting the declaration.

The ministry emphasized that this epidemic poses a significant health threat to Gaza's residents and neighboring countries and undermines the global polio eradication program.

The ministry warned that the epidemic control program, launched in collaboration with international institutions such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization, will not be effective without immediate intervention to end the aggression. They called for urgent solutions to the lack of clean water, personal hygiene supplies, repairs to sewage networks, and removal of garbage and solid waste.