Martyrs in Israeli bombing of different areas in Gaza and a warning of the spread of "polio"

The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continues for the 286th consecutive day, leaving more martyrs, wounded and missing civilians, amid a humanitarian disaster and the specter of famine looming over all areas of the Strip.

Eight Palestinians, including children, were killed and others were injured in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a house in the central Gaza Strip at dawn on Friday. The Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) reported that the occupation's bombing targeted the Abu Shakyan family's house in Block C in the Nuseirat camp, and the martyrs were transferred to the "Al-Aqsa Martyrs" Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah.

In the middle of the Strip, 6 citizens from the Abu Hassanein family were also killed when the occupation aircraft bombed a house in the Bureij camp. Two citizens were also killed when the occupation aircraft bombed a school housing displaced people in Gaza City, while artillery shelled the south of the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, southwest of the city, according to what was reported by WAFA.

Buildings bombed in Rafah

In the southern Gaza Strip, the occupation aircraft carried out several raids in the town of Al-Qarara, north of Khan Yunis, and the artillery targeted a number of sites west of Rafah, coinciding with gunfire from the occupation vehicles.

The occupation army continued to carry out bombing operations against residential buildings west of Rafah city, according to eyewitnesses, coinciding with the outbreak of violent confrontations and clashes between Palestinian resistance factions and the Israeli occupation army in the western areas of Rafah city.

The Israeli artillery launched a violent and renewed artillery bombardment on the central, western and northwestern areas of Rafah city, focusing on the Saudi neighborhood in the west of the city. The Israeli artillery also bombarded the neighborhoods of Al-Fakhari, Maan and Abasan Al-Kabira east of Khan Yunis (south) intensively, and targeted a house belonging to the Qudaih family without causing any injuries, amidst intense gunfire.

In Gaza City, eyewitnesses reported that Israeli vehicles fired smoke bombs around the Al-Musalaba area, south of the Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of the city, while the southwestern areas witnessed explosions and violent clashes between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation army.

Israeli artillery also shelled the vicinity of the Erez crossing, the northern Qalibu area, and Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, amid gunfire from vehicles stationed north and east of the border.

Health disaster after detection of polio virus

For its part, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip warned yesterday, Thursday, of a "new health disaster" with the detection of the polio virus in sewage water.

The ministry's statement indicated that "sewage samples were tested in coordination with UNICEF, and the results showed the polio virus."

The statement added that "the presence of the virus in the sewage water that collects and runs between the tents of the displaced and in the places of the residents as a result of the destruction of the infrastructure represents a new health disaster, especially in light of the severe crowding with the scarcity of available water and its contamination with sewage water and the accumulation of tons of garbage and the occupation's prevention of the entry of cleaning materials."

The ministry warned that "detecting the virus in sewage exposes thousands of residents to the risk of contracting polio," and called for "an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression, the provision of usable water, the repair of sewage lines, and the end of overcrowding in displacement sites."

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that invades the nervous system and can cause complete paralysis within hours. The virus is spread by transmission from person to person.

According to the World Health Organization, the severe overcrowding in shelters and the disruption of the health system and water and sanitation networks are likely to increase the rapid spread of infectious diseases.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been waging a war on Gaza, resulting in more than 128,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and deadly famine.