Skip to content Skip to footer

Advocates Say Biden Must Immediately Act to Stop Polio Outbreak in Gaza

Biden bears responsibility to act after backing the destruction of Gaza’s health and sanitation systems, they said.

A Palestinian boy looks over as he stands on the rubble of buildings destroyed in previous Israel bombardment, on the edge of a pool of stagnant water in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 19, 2024.

Advocates for Palestinian rights are demanding that the Biden administration take urgent action to stop a potential outbreak of polio in Gaza after the virus that causes the deadly disease was found in Gaza’s wastewater, threatening an epidemic that would be nothing short of catastrophic.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says that Biden bears responsibility to respond to the crisis after funding Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s health and sanitation systems, which has created conditions ripe for a deadly epidemic.

“Having enabled the wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure and medical facilities in Gaza, the Biden administration has a duty to ensure that polio vaccines reach all those who need to be vaccinated,” said CAIR communications director Ibrahim Hooper in a statement Sunday.

“This is only possible with an immediate and permanent ceasefire to both stop the genocide and prevent the outbreak of polio and other diseases,” Hooper went on. “The suffering of the Palestinian people must come to an end.”

Palestinian health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced last week that poliovirus, the virus that causes polio, has been detected in six different samples across Gaza. Officials have not detected any cases of paralysis stemming from polio, but the detection of the virus means that it could rapidly break out into an epidemic, experts warned, as the disease can spread undetected for weeks among people who are asymptomatic.

Israel has destroyed the infrastructure necessary to address an epidemic in Gaza while creating conditions ripe for disease. Reports have found that Palestinians are “drowning” in sewage due to Israel’s systematic destruction of the sanitation system, with wastewater filling the streets of Gaza and Palestinians sheltering close to mountains of solid waste that attract bugs and vermin. At the same time, only a fraction of hospital beds are operational.

Israeli officials appear to be aware of the extreme health risk posed by the presence of the virus, and announced on Sunday that they are starting a non-mandatory campaign to ensure that Israeli soldiers are vaccinated against polio. Officials said nothing about ensuring that Palestinians are immune to the virus.

A group of Israeli public health professors has also called for a ceasefire in order to prevent the spread of polio. In an op-ed in Haaretz, the group warned that the virus is especially deadly for babies and that, if the epidemic is not stopped, Israel is not only risking thousands of lives of Palestinians but also the lives of everyone in the region, as viruses “know no borders.”

“Those at greatest risk are Gazan babies and Israeli infants, who have not completed their required vaccinations due to health service disruptions or their young age,” the op-ed said. “They are not guilty of any crime, other than the dangerous circumstances they were born into.”

Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One

Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.

Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.

Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.

As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.

And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.

In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.

We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.

We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $145,000 in one-time donations and to add 1489 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.

Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.

If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!

With gratitude and resolve,

Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy