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Baby Paralyzed in Gaza's 1st Case of Type 2 Polio for 25 Years, WHO Says

A Palestinian girl is examined by a doctor amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of Health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan... Purchase Licensing Rights
A Palestinian girl is examined by a doctor amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of Health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan... Purchase Licensing Rights
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Baby Paralyzed in Gaza's 1st Case of Type 2 Polio for 25 Years, WHO Says

A Palestinian girl is examined by a doctor amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of Health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan... Purchase Licensing Rights
A Palestinian girl is examined by a doctor amid fears over the spread of polio after the first case was reported by the Ministry of Health, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, August 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan... Purchase Licensing Rights

A 10-month-old baby in war-shattered Gaza has been paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years, the World Health Organization said on Friday, with UN agencies appealing for urgent vaccinations of every baby.

The type 2 virus (cVDPV2), while not inherently more dangerous than types 1 and 3, has been responsible for most outbreaks in recent years, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.

UN agencies have called for Israel and Hamas to agree to a seven-day humanitarian pause in their 10-month-old war to allow vaccination campaigns to proceed in the territory.

"Polio does not distinguish between Palestinian and Israeli children," the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday in a post on X, Reuters reported.

"Delaying a humanitarian pause will increase the risk of spread among children," Philippe Lazzarini added.

The baby, who has lost movement in his lower left leg, is currently in stable condition, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

The WHO has announced that two rounds of a polio vaccination campaign are set to begin in late August and September 2024 across the densely populated Gaza Strip.

With its health services widely damaged or destroyed by fighting, and raw sewage spreading amid a breakdown in sanitation infrastructure, Gaza's population is particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of disease.

- CHALLENGE OF VACCINATIONS IN WAR ZONE

Gaza's health ministry first reported the polio case in the unvaccinated 10-month-old baby a week ago in the central city of Deir Al-Balah, an often embattled area in the war.

Hamas on Aug. 16 supported a UN request for a seven-day pause in the fighting to vaccinate Gaza children against polio, Hamas political bureau official Izzat al-Rishq said on Friday.

Israel, which has laid siege to Gaza since last October and whose ground offensive and bombardments have levelled much of the territory, said days later it would facilitate the transfer of polio vaccines into Gaza for around one million children.

The Israeli military's humanitarian unit (COGAT) said it was coordinating with Palestinians to procure 43,000 vials of vaccine - each with multiple doses - for delivery in Israel in the coming weeks for transfer to Gaza.

The vaccines should be sufficient for two rounds of doses for more than a million children, COGAT added.

As well as allowing the entry of polo specialists into Gaza, the UN has said a successful campaign would require transport for vaccines and refrigeration equipment at every step as well as conditions that would allow the campaign to reach children in every area of the rubble-clogged territory.

Poliomyelitis, a highly infectious virus primarily spread through the fecal-oral route, can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

Traces of polio virus were detected last month in sewage in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, two areas in southern and central Gaza that have seen hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting seek shelter.

Children under five are particularly at risk.

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Key Players in Syria’s Long-Running Civil War, Reignited by Shock Opposition Offensive

A Syrian flag lies on the ground as opposition fighters stand on the tarmac of the Aleppo international airport, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.(AP)
A Syrian flag lies on the ground as opposition fighters stand on the tarmac of the Aleppo international airport, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.(AP)
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Key Players in Syria’s Long-Running Civil War, Reignited by Shock Opposition Offensive

A Syrian flag lies on the ground as opposition fighters stand on the tarmac of the Aleppo international airport, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.(AP)
A Syrian flag lies on the ground as opposition fighters stand on the tarmac of the Aleppo international airport, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024.(AP)

Syria’s long civil war has reclaimed global attention after opposition factions seized most of its largest city and dozens of nearby towns and villages.

The stunning advance on Aleppo by opposition forces came as several key players in the conflict have been distracted or weakened, triggering the heaviest clashes since a 2020 ceasefire brought relative calm to the country’s north.

Russian and Syrian forces have carried out dozens of airstrikes to try to limit the factions’ advances, inflicting heavy casualties.

Syria's civil war started in 2011 after a peaceful uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule. Five foreign powers have a military presence in the country including the US, Russia and Iran. Forces opposed to Assad, along with US-backed fighters, control more than a third of the country. Israel holds the Golan Heights, which it seized in its 1967 war with its Arab neighbors.

Here’s a look at the key players:

Syrian pro-government forces, backed by Russia and Iran

Syrian government troops have long controlled a large part of the country, thanks to allied forces dispatched by Russia and Iran.

Assad's forces control most of the major population centers, including the capital Damascus and cities in Syria's center, south and east.

The Syrian government's capture of Aleppo in late 2016 was a turning point in the conflict and their loss of the city in recent days is a major setback.

Iran's military advisers and proxy fighters have played a critical role in shoring up Assad's forces throughout the war. But Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which is backed by Iran, has been weakened in its recent war with Israel and Iran has been distracted by the conflict. On Monday, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias deployed to Syria to back the government’s counteroffensive.

Russia's military has supported Assad from the Mediterranean coast, where it maintains its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union, and at the Hmeimim air base in Latakia province, which is home to hundreds of Russian troops. But much of its attention and resources have been focused on its war in Ukraine.

Opposition groups, backed mainly by Türkiye

Anti-government forces are led by the opposition Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which long served as al-Qaeda's branch in Syria and is considered a terrorist group by the UN as well as countries including the US.

HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group's image, cutting ties with al-Qaeda, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance.

Other opposition groups include Noureddine el-Zinki, which was formerly backed by the US, before it joined the HTS-led alliance.

A Turkish-backed coalition of groups known as the Syrian National Army has attacked areas including the northern town of Tel Rifaat, controlled by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Chinese fighters from the Turkistan Islamic Party and Chechen fighters from the former Soviet Union have taken part in the battles in the country's northwest, according to Syrian opposition activists. Türkiye, which controls parts of northern Syria, will not say how many troops it has in the country.

Syrian Democratic Forces, backed by the US

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a US-backed coalition of groups, controls large parts of eastern Syria.

The SDF has battled the ISIS group, capturing the last sliver of land held by the extremists in eastern Syria. About 900 American troops are stationed in Syria’s east to guard against a resurgence by the extremist group.

SDF forces still control several neighborhoods of Aleppo encircled by the opposition groups. Opposition activists have said their forces are willing to let those fighters cross to northeast Syria but it was not immediately clear if the Kurdish-led forces will do so.

Türkiye considers the principal Kurdish faction of the SDF to be linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it and allies regard as a terrorist group.