DEIR BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Born in the devastating Israel-Hamas war, 10-month-old Abd al-Rahman Abu al-Jedian began crawling early. Then one day, he froze—his left leg appeared paralyzed.
The baby boy is the first. Confirmation of polio case According to the World Health Organization, within 25 years inside Gaza.
Abd al-Rahman was an energetic child, the child's mother, Naveen Abu Al-Jadyan, said through tears. “Suddenly, it turned around. Suddenly, he stopped crawling, stopped walking, stopped standing, and stopped sitting.”
Health workers in Gaza have been warning for months about the possibility of a polio outbreak, as the humanitarian crisis created by Israel's aggression on the strip only continues to grow. Abdul Rahman's diagnosis confirms health workers' worst fears.
The WHO says that children in Gaza were vaccinated against polio before the war.
But Abd al-Rahman was not vaccinated because he was born just before Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel retaliated against Gaza, forcing his family to flee immediately. fell Hospitals were attacked, and routine vaccinations for newborns were stopped.
The WHO says that for every case of paralysis caused by polio, there are hundreds who are potentially infected but are not showing symptoms. Most people who contract the disease do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects the breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal.
The Abu al-Jadyan family, like many others, now lives in an overcrowded tent camp, near garbage dumps and dirty sewage flowing in streets that aid workers describe as a breeding ground for diseases like polio, which is spread by intestinal secretions. are The United Nations has unveiled plans to launch. Vaccination campaign to prevent spread And save other families from the ordeal that the Abu Jadyan family is now facing.
The family of 10 left their home in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, and moved from shelter to shelter until finally living in a tent in the central city of Deir al-Balah.
“My son was not vaccinated because of the constant migration,” said his mother. “We are sheltering here in a tent in a health condition where there is no medicine, no stamina, no supplements.”
The mother of eight said she was “shocked” to learn her son had contracted polio.
The WHO says there are at least two more children with paralysis in the strip and their stool samples have been sent to a laboratory in Jordan.
UNICEF spokesman Ammar Ammar said the ceasefire was necessary to immunize most of Gaza's children under the age of 10. Health institutions Find a break in the fight, which has sent thousands of Palestinian families to relocate in recent days. Successive Israeli withdrawal orders. Many children live in areas of Gaza that are difficult to reach due to Israeli military operations.
“Without a polio pause or a ceasefire, this would be impossible,” Ammar said. “This is due to the constant evacuation orders and the constant displacement of children and their families. Also, it can be extremely dangerous for teams to even be able to reach children.
The United Nations aims to vaccinate at least 95% of the more than 640,000 children starting Saturday. According to UNICEF, 1.2 million doses of the vaccine have already arrived in Gaza, and another 400,000 doses are due to arrive in the coming weeks. COGAT, Israel's military body in charge of civilian affairs. He said that he has given permission for UN trucks. Carrying more than 25,000 vials of vaccine through the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday.
“If not implemented, it could have devastating effects not only on the children of Gaza, but also on neighboring countries and the region's borders,” Ammar said.
Back in the family's tent in Deir al-Balah, Nivin Abu al-Jaidian looked at his youngest boy, lying in a bassinet made from a plastic car seat as his seven other children gathered around.
“I hope he comes back sitting and moving like his siblings,” she said.
___
This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the family's last name, Abu Al-Jadyan.