WHO chief says Polio detected in Gaza, appeals for action

BRUSSELS, July 31: The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that polio had been detected in Gaza and warned that children in the war-ravaged enclave would soon be infected by the disease if preventative measures were not quickly taken.

A day after the WHO said there were "very likely" polio cases among Gaza's population, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took to social media platform X to flag concern about the human cost of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"The detection of polio in Gaza is another reminder of the dire conditions the population is facing," Tedros wrote on X. "The persistence of the conflict hampers efforts to identify and respond to preventable threats such as polio."    —REUTERS