In a serious health development amid the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday the death of three people from Guillain-Barré syndrome, including two children under the age of 15. The deaths were attributed to severe malnutrition and the absence of treatment caused by the intensified Israeli blockade.
This comes as Gaza’s healthcare system collapses, with hospitals besieged by severe shortages of medicines, a lack of diagnostic capacity, and the shutdown of vital equipment.
The recorded deaths highlight the deepening health crisis in Gaza, where dire conditions have created a fertile ground for the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases.
According to the Ministry’s statement, the two children died after all rescue attempts failed due to the unavailability of necessary treatment. The Ministry warned of a “widespread outbreak of the disease” if the blockade continues and medicines remain barred from entering.
Medical examinations revealed the presence of enteroviruses unrelated to polio, exposing the deteriorating environmental conditions that enable rapid and uncontrollable disease spread.
The Ministry also reported an unprecedented rise in cases of acute flaccid paralysis and Guillain-Barré syndrome, particularly among children, linked to atypical infections and malnutrition.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, causing general weakness and, in some cases, partial or total paralysis. Its severity increases in environments lacking healthcare and adequate nutrition, conditions that now define Gaza.
International organisations had previously warned that Gaza faces the risk of a “deadly epidemic catastrophe” driven by starvation, lack of clean water, and collapsing healthcare, with preventable and treatable diseases now claiming increasing numbers of lives.
This dire situation unfolds against the backdrop of Israeli ongoing genocide in Gaza since 7 October 2023, which has killed or injured over 210,000 people, most of them women and children, left over 9,000 missing, displaced hundreds of thousands, and triggered famine that now threatens to turn Gaza into a disease-ridden zone where life is crushed by hunger, illness, and relentless bombardment.
