ONGOING Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed about 39,400 Palestinians and injured 90,996 others since October last year.
These attacks, according to the Gazan Health Ministry, have also triggered massive hepatitis outbreaks due to desperate sanitary conditions caused by the Israeli attacks and blockade.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near east, nearly 40,000 cases of hepatitis have been recorded in Gaza since the start of the Israeli war on October 7, 2023.
Aside from a hepatitis outbreak, Gazan health authorities announced a polio epidemic in the enclave.
They blamed Israeli military operations for damaging sanitation and medical systems, which precipitated the spread of polio and hepatitis.
According to the Health Ministry of Gaza, polio had already been eradicated in Palestine for years.
However, the virus has once again been detected in wastewater in Khan Younis in Southern Gaza and central parts of the strip, posing a health threat to residents of Gaza and neighboring countries.
To recall, the World Health Organization (WHO) recently reported that its researchers had found the polio virus in six sewage samples collected in Khan Younis and other places in the Gaza Strip.
The international health body expressed extreme concern about the situation.
Last week, WHO announced it would send more than 1 million doses of the polio vaccine to Gaza to vaccinate children in the coming weeks.
