Abdul Rahman Abu Al-Jidyan was born in Gaza in September 2023. Like 90% of Gaza’s population, the little boy and his family have been displaced multiple times since the war began in the month after his birth. Then, a few weeks before his first birthday, baby Abdul Rahman developed a fever and began vomiting. He was diagnosed as Gaza’s first polio victim in 25 years.
Polio is a highly contagious disease that thrives on misery, of which there is plenty in Gaza. As of June 3, 2024, Israel has destroyed five water and sanitation facilities every three days since the beginning of the war, according to a Report July published by Oxfam. What possible military necessity could justify such a catastrophic destruction that indiscriminately punishes the entire Palestinian population of Gaza? Israeli bombardments, the report says, have destroyed 70% of Gaza’s sewage pumps, all of Gaza’s wastewater treatment plants and Gaza’s two main water quality testing laboratories.
It is no surprise that infectious diseases dramatically rising in this environment: almost a million cases of acute respiratory infections, more than half a million cases of acute watery diarrhea, more than 100,000 cases of suspected hepatitis A infection. And now polio.
The Israeli government’s initial response to the discovery of polio in Gaza’s wastewater in July was to vaccinate own troopsbut international pressure – particularly American pressure, according to Israeli media – has led to a massive vaccination campaign in Gaza, and to the reality that the disease, which knows no borders, could easily emerge in Israel next. Hamas and Israel have agreed to a daily halt in fighting for at least three days to allow for the first round of vaccinations, with Israel saying it will allow “a humanitarian corridor” for medical personnel to travel and establish “designated safe areas” for the vaccination campaign. A second round must also be administered in four weeks for the vaccination to be effective.
It’s a relief that the first day of vaccination rollouts was largely considered a success, but as Malcolm X memorably put it mentioned: “If you stick a knife 9 inches into my back and pull it out 6 inches, there is no progress.” The same day the vaccines were distributed also saw one of the highest daily casualties in months, with a reported 89 Palestinians killed and another 205 wounded in the space of 24 hours. And delivering the vaccinations still comes with a host of risks, not the least of which is the deadly retaliation of Israeli fire on aid workers and medical personnel as they carry out their life-saving work.
On August 30, an Israeli airstrike targeted an aid convoy organized by the US-based NGO Anera killed four Palestinians. (In his propositionAnera disputes Israel’s claim that the four were armed.) That deadly attack came days after Israeli forces also dismissed 10 shots were fired at a World Food Programme vehicle at a military checkpoint, forcing the WFP to suspend its operations in the Gaza Strip until further notice. Seven workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli airstrike in April, drawing international condemnation. At least 294 humanitarian workers have been killed since October killed in Gazaand the number of humanitarian missions Israel rejected last August is almost double the number denied in July.
After Israeli authorities reported last weekend that six Israeli hostages—including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin—had been killed by Hamas and their bodies recovered, global attention shifted from the horrors of Gaza to Israel’s fears. There is no question that Goldberg-Polin should be alive and free, as should Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov, and Ori Danino. What is also true is that we almost never learn the names of the more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians and including more than 10,000 children, who died in this war, even though their lives are worth remembering.
Enough. Abdul Rahman Abu Al-Jidyan should never have gotten polio in the first place. The Palestinian people deserve to be free from military occupation and premature death. Like all people, Palestinians should be able to live their lives with dignity and respect. And this American sponsored massacre, very unpopular all over the worldincluded with American votersmust not last longer.