The Health Ministry reported on Thursday that traces of the polio virus were found in sewage samples in Gaza. The IDF has ordered all soldiers serving in the Strip to be vaccinated or given a booster shot.
The results of the testing by the ministry correspond with testing done by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Cairo. The ministry said it was monitoring the situation to ensure that the virus does not spread to Israel.
Officials said on Wednesday that Israel would rebuild Gaza's sewage system, which was devastated by the war. Repairs will include sewage pipes and purification plants damaged during the war, which caused an overflow of sewage.
"Epidemics could easily break out there due to poor sanitation. There were places where sewage puddles were dried up and discharged to the sea, but this is a health hazard for us as well," a security official said.
"The Khan Younis municipality has already started to dump sewage into the sea, which may lead to the closure of Zikim and Ashkelon beaches in southern Israel. It is a miracle that no diseases have spread there. There are piles of garbage next to running water, and we will take care of this issue," he said.
The Health Ministry recently said its data showed that in predominately Haredi cities and neighborhoods, there was a lower rate of vaccination rate of children, including parents refusing to submit their babies to a combined vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, polio and pertussis as well as measles at two months.