The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the sector has become an epidemic zone for polio.

It stated in a statement that this came after many years of eradicating polio in Palestine, and as a result of the miserable conditions that the residents of the Gaza Strip have reached due to the brutal Israeli aggression that has deprived the population of potable water, destroyed the sewage infrastructure, piled up thousands of tons of garbage, led to food insecurity, and overcrowded the population in places of forced displacement, with the discovery of the polio virus type CVPV2 in sewage water in Khan Younis and the Central Governorate.

It indicated that the epidemic poses a health threat to the residents of the Gaza Strip and neighboring countries, and also represents a setback for the global polio eradication program.

The health authorities in Gaza warned that the program to combat this epidemic, launched by the ministry in partnership with relevant international organizations, especially UNICEF and the World Health Organization, will not be sufficient unless there is immediate intervention to end the aggression.

It also emphasized the need for radical solutions to the problem of the lack of drinking water and personal hygiene means such as cleaners and disinfectants, repairing sewage networks, and removing tons of garbage and solid waste.