SEAToday.com, Gaza - The first case of polio in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded that the virus partially paralysed a 10-month-old child because he was not vaccinated due to the war. Most people who contract the disease experience no symptoms, and those who do usually recover within a week or so. But there is no cure.

To prevent its spread, the Ministry of Health on Saturday (31/8) socialised the Polio vaccine programme for children in Gaza. A small number of children in Gaza received vaccine doses a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and a limited pause in fighting agreed by Israel and the UN World Health Organisation (WHO).

‘There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach all the people targeted by this campaign,’ said Dr Yousef Abu Al-Rish, Gaza's deputy health minister, describing the sight of dirty water flowing in overcrowded refugee camps. Polio is spread through faeces.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said ‘Israel will allow humanitarian corridors only’ and ‘safe areas for vaccine administration for a few hours.’

The Israeli government said the vaccination programme could run until 9 September and last for eight hours a day. This allows health workers to administer vaccines to reach an estimated 640,000 Palestinian children.

Health officials in Gaza have been warning of a potential polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis in the territory worsened during the war that erupted after Hamas-led militants invaded southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250. Israeli counterattacks have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which did not say how many of them were militants.