The Gaza Strip is witnessing a worrying increase in cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), a rare neurological disorder that strikes children suddenly, causing severe muscle weakness that can lead to complete loss of movement.
Among the victims is Aseel Rami Saad, a 10-year-old girl who suddenly collapsed without warning. Doctors later discovered she was suffering from nerve inflammation that led to a severe loss of muscle tone and control.
Although her condition has slightly improved after physical therapy and medication, her health remains fragile.
Her family, who was displaced from the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood and now lives in a tent in central Gaza, struggles to meet her basic medical and nutritional needs due to dire living conditions and the absence of essential care.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that 95 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare disorder, have been recorded, including 45 children, warning of an ‘alarming and rapid spread’ of the disease among Palestinians, fuelled by water pollution and malnutrition caused by Israel’s starvation policies.
Dr Munir Al-Bursh, Director General of the Ministry, said the situation is unprecedented. Following the announcement of three deaths, including two children under 15, he noted that this syndrome, also known as acute flaccid paralysis, is typically extremely rare, with a normal rate of only one case per year. In contrast, 95 cases were documented in a short, unspecified period.
He explained that the syndrome begins with sudden weakness in the lower limbs, spreading upward and potentially affecting respiratory muscles, which can result in death.
On July 22, the Ministry reported 45 AFP cases in June and July alone, an unprecedented rise linked to deteriorating environmental and health conditions, and widespread malnutrition.
Dr Al-Bursh attributed the outbreak to contaminated water and lack of proper nutrition, both consequences of Israeli-imposed starvation.
He described the fast-spreading syndrome as a dangerous indicator of the collapse of the healthcare system and worsening humanitarian crisis due to the blockade and Israel’s ban on essential medications and nutrients.
On Monday, the Ministry confirmed that three patients, including two children, had died from GBS due to malnutrition and the absence of necessary treatments, warning of a ‘real and highly contagious catastrophe’.
Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a disorder affecting nerves throughout the body, caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking parts of the peripheral nervous system.
Common symptoms include general weakness, tingling, numbness in the limbs, and full-body paralysis.
Dr Ahmed Al-Farra, head of Paediatrics and Maternity at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, explained that the disease affects people of all ages but is more prevalent among children.
It starts with weakness in the limbs and leads to loss of the ability to stand or walk, often progressing to total paralysis, sometimes even impairing breathing, forcing doctors to use ventilators in severe cases.
He said that the most effective treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), a highly expensive drug that requires special refrigerated storage, but is currently unavailable in Gaza due to Israel’s ban on its entry.
An alternative treatment, which involves plasma exchange to filter out harmful immune components, is also inaccessible due to the ban on importing special filters required for the procedure.
Dr Al-Farra added: ‘Acute flaccid paralysis is directly linked to a weakened immune system due to malnutrition and drinking unsafe water.
‘Many cases likely start with intestinal or viral infections, which trigger the immune system to attack the peripheral nerves.’
Gaza hospitals have reported 188 deaths from hunger and malnutrition since the onset of the Israeli genocide, including 94 children.
The Government Media Office confirmed that over one million children in Gaza suffer from severe malnutrition, with food and clean water nearly unavailable and the health system on the verge of total collapse.
On July 24, Oxfam warned that disease outbreaks in Gaza could become a deadly catastrophe due to hunger, lack of clean water, shelter, and healthcare.
Earlier, UNICEF said that children in Gaza are dying from bombing, hunger, malnutrition, and lack of aid and basic services.
The UN body stressed, ‘Gaza’s children urgently need food, clean water, medicine, and protection. But above all, they need a ceasefire, now.’
Gaza is currently experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in its history, as extreme famine coincides with a genocidal war waged by Israel since October 7, 2023.
Hospitals are collapsing, with severe shortages of medicine, medical supplies, and diagnostic and treatment capabilities.
Since October 7, Israel has been carrying out a genocidal campaign in Gaza involving mass killings, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, defying all international appeals and ignoring orders from the International Court of Justice to halt its actions.
Backed by the United States, the assault has resulted in over 210,000 Palestinians killed or injured, most of them children and women, with more than 9,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced, amid a famine that continues to claim countless lives.
Nine-year-old Palestinian girl Mariam Dawas has lost more than half her body weight due to the war and siege conditions in the Gaza Strip, as UN organisations warn of a worsening malnutrition crisis among children.
Mariam sits beside her 33-year-old mother, Madalla, in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City.
The mother recounts that they live in a displacement camp in the northern part of the Strip, affirming that her daughter had no health issues before the war.
Mariam previously weighed 25 kilograms, but her weight has now dropped to just 10 kilograms.
Ted Chaiban, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, said there are clear indicators that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has moved beyond the threshold of famine.
He noted that one in every three people in the Strip goes days without food.
Meanwhile, the Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza confirmed that hospitals have documented seven deaths within the past 24 hours due to the Israeli starvation policy and malnutrition, including one child.
As the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory worsens, the Ministry of Health announced that the number of starvation-related deaths in Gaza has risen to 175 martyrs, including 93 children.
The Government Media Office reported that only 36 trucks of humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
Most of them were looted or stolen due to the state of security chaos that the Israeli occupation deliberately and systematically fosters as part of what has become known as the ‘policy of engineered chaos and starvation.’
On July 27, the World Health Organisation warned that malnutrition rates in Gaza had reached dangerous levels amid the ongoing war and blockade, which threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents, especially children.
Away from the supervision of the United Nations and international relief organisations, Tel Aviv began implementing an aid distribution plan on May 27 through an entity called the Gaza Humanitarian Relief Foundation, an Organisation supported by Israel and the US but rejected by the United Nations.
Palestinians affirm that this aid mechanism aims to gather them and force their displacement from their land in preparation for the re-occupation of Gaza.
Earlier on Saturday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that since May 27, the number of victims killed while waiting for aid has reached 1,422 martyrs while more than 10,000 others were injured.
Since October 7, 2023, the US-backed Israeli genocide has resulted in over 209,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them women and children, along with more than 10,000 missing persons, hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals, and famine that has claimed countless lives.
