Algeria urges immediate ceasefire in Gaza to avert catastrophic polio outbreak

Algeria has issued a forceful plea for the urgent enforcement of a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution in Gaza, citing the pressing need to initiate a polio vaccination campaign amid the territory’s escalating health crisis, Report informs referring to Dzair Tube.

The call follows relentless Zionist airstrikes that have decimated Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure, raising fears of a looming polio epidemic in the war-torn enclave.

Algeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Amar Bendjama, voiced this appeal during a critical UN Security Council session addressing the Middle East and the Palestinian issue. “Algeria demands the immediate and complete implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions, particularly Resolution 2735, which mandates an urgent ceasefire in Gaza,” declared Bendjama. He emphasized the grave threat posed by polio, now re-emerging due to the collapse of Gaza’s medical services. “The resurgence of polio is a direct consequence of the ongoing destruction of hospitals and the targeting of healthcare workers by Zionist forces,” he added.

The systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system has intensified the risk of a widespread polio outbreak. Bendjama revealed that more than half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals have been rendered inoperative under the barrage of Zionist bombardments. “The toll of this aggression extends beyond the immediate casualties—Gaza now faces the imminent threat of a public health catastrophe,” he cautioned. The situation has been exacerbated by the detection of polio in wastewater samples from Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirming the virus’s presence and warning of potential transmission beginning as early as September.

The healthcare crisis is compounded by Gaza’s inability to mount an adequate response due to the ongoing war against the besieged strip. Bendjama highlighted the impossibility of launching a vaccination campaign while airstrikes continue. “The notion of a successful vaccination drive is inconceivable under current conditions. What Gaza truly needs is not another de-escalation mechanism, but a full cessation of hostilities,” he asserted, echoing calls from WHO and UNICEF for a humanitarian pause to enable critical health interventions.