DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Born into the devastating Israel-Hamas war, 10-month-old Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian started crawling early. Then one day, he froze — his left leg appeared to be paralyzed.
The baby boy is the first confirmed case of polio inside Gaza in 25 years, according to the World Health Organization.
Abdel-Rahman was an energetic baby, said the child’s mother, Nevine Abu El-Jedian, fighting back tears. “Suddenly, that was reversed. Suddenly, he stopped crawling, stopped moving, stopped standing up, and stopped sitting.”
Health care workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months, as the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Israel’s offensive on the strip only grows. Abdel-Rahman’s diagnosis confirms health workers’ worst fears.
Before the war, Gaza’s children were largely vaccinated against polio, the WHO says.
But Abdel-Rahman was not vaccinated because he was born just before Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza that forced his family into near-immediate flight. Hospitals came under attack, and regular vaccinations for newborns all but stopped.
The WHO says that for every case of paralysis due to polio, there are hundreds more who likely have been infected but aren’t showing symptoms. Most people who contract the disease do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal.
The Abu El-Jedian family, like many, now live in a crowded tent camp, near heaps of garbage and dirty wastewater flowing into the streets that aid workers describe as breeding grounds for diseases like polio, spread through fecal matter. The United Nations has unveiled plans to begin a vaccination campaign to stop the spread and protect other families from the ordeal the Abu El-Jedian family now faces.
The family of 10 left their home in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, moving from shelter to shelter until finally settling in a tent in the central city of Deir Al-Balah.
“My son was not vaccinated because of the continued displacement,” his mother said. “We are sheltering here in the tent in such health conditions where there is no medication, no capabilities, no supplements.”
The mother of eight said she was “stunned” to find out that her boy had contracted polio.
The WHO says that there are at least two other children with paralysis reported in the strip, and samples of their stool have been sent to a lab in Jordan.
In order to vaccinate most of Gaza’s children under the age of 10, UNICEF spokesperson Ammar Ammar said a ceasefire is necessary. The health agencies seek a pause in the fighting, which in recent days has sent thousands of Palestinian families fleeing under successive Israeli evacuation orders. Many children live in areas of Gaza that ongoing Israeli military operations make difficult to reach.
“Without the polio pause or ceasefire, it would be impossible,” Ammar said. “This is due to the continued evacuation orders and continued displacement of the children and their families. In addition, it can be extremely dangerous for teams as well, to be able to reach the children.”
The United Nations aims to vaccinate at least 95 percent of more than 640,000 children, beginning Saturday. Already 1.2 million doses of vaccine have arrived in Gaza, with 400,000 more doses set to arrive in the coming weeks, according to UNICEF. Israel’s military body in charge of civilian affairs, COGAT, said it allowed UN trucks carrying over 25,000 vials of the vaccine through the Kerem Shalom crossing Sunday.
“If this is not implemented, it could have a disastrous effect, not only for the children in Gaza, but also neighboring countries and across the borders in the region,” Ammar said.
Back in the family’s tent in Deir Al-Balah, Nevine Abu El-Jedian gazed at her youngest boy, lying still in a plastic car seat-turned bassinet as her seven other children gathered around.
“I hope he returns to be like his siblings, sitting down and moving,” she said.
A 10-month-old Palestinian baby suddenly stopped crawling. Polio had struck Gaza
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A 10-month-old Palestinian baby suddenly stopped crawling. Polio had struck Gaza
- Health care workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months, as the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Israel’s offensive on the strip only grows
Iran successfully launches satellite into space
A Saturday report by the official IRNA said that the Chamran-1 satellite has a weight of 60 kilograms and it successfully reached a 550-kilometer orbit in space. It said testing space hardware and software is the main mission of the satellite.
IRNA said land stations received signals from the satellite too. It said satellite-carrier rocket Ghaem-100, using solid fuel, was designed, and made by the Guard aerospace division.
Though Iran has long planned to send satellites into orbit, this is the first launch under reformist President Masoud Pezezhkian after his hard-line predecessor Ebrahim Raisi died in a May helicopter crash.
Women in Iran are going without hijabs as the 2nd anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death approaches
- Country’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to halt the harassment of women by morality police
DUBAI: On the streets of Iranian cities, it’s becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, as the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches.
There’s no government official or study acknowledging the phenomenon, which began as Iran entered its hot summer months and power cuts in its overburdened electrical system became common. But across social media, videos of people filming neighborhood streets or just talking about a normal day in their life, women and girls can be seen walking past with their long hair out over their shoulders, particularly after sunset.
This defiance comes despite what United Nations investigators describe as “expanded repressive measures and policies” by Iran’s theocracy to punish them — though there’s been no recent catalyzing event like Amini’s death to galvanize demonstrators.
The country’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian campaigned on a promise to halt the harassment of women by morality police. But the country’s ultimate authority remains the 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who in the past said “unveiling is both religiously forbidden and politically forbidden.”
For some observant Muslim women, the head covering is a sign of piety before God and modesty in front of men outside their families. In Iran, the hijab — and the all-encompassing black chador worn by some — has long been a political symbol as well.
“Meaningful institutional changes and accountability for gross human rights violations and crimes under international law, and crimes against humanity, remains elusive for victims and survivors, especially for women and children,” warned a UN fact-finding mission on Iran on Friday.
Amini, 22, died on Sept. 16, 2022, in a hospital after her arrest by the country’s morality police over allegedly not wearing her hijab to the liking of the authorities. The protests that followed Amini’s death started first with the chant “Women, Life, Freedom.” However, the protesters’ cries soon grew into open calls of revolt against Khamenei.
A monthslong security crackdown that followed killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.
Today, passersby on the streets of Tehran, whether its tony northern suburbs for the wealthy or the working-class neighborhoods of the capital’s southern reaches, now routinely see women without the hijab. It particularly starts at dusk, though even during the daylight on weekends women can be seen with their hair uncovered at major parks.
Online videos — specifically a sub-genre showing walking tours of city streets for those in rural areas or abroad who want to see life in the bustling neighborhoods of Tehran — include women without the hijab.
Something that would have stopped a person in their tracks in the decades follwing the 1979 Islamic Revolution now goes unacknowledged.
“My quasi-courage for not wearing scarves is a legacy of Mahsa Amini and we have to protect this as an achievement,” said a 25-year-old student at Tehran Sharif University, who gave only her first name Azadeh out of fear of reprisal. “She could be at my current age if she did not pass away.”
The disobedience still comes with risk. Months after the protests halted, Iranian morality police returned to the streets.
There have been scattered videos of women and young girls being roughed up by officers in the time since. In 2023, a teenage Iranian girl was injured in a mysterious incident on Tehran’s Metro while not wearing a headscarf and later died in hospital. In July, activists say police opened fire on a woman fleeing a checkpoint in an attempt to avoid her car being impounded for her not wearing the hijab.
Meanwhile, the government has targeted private businesses where women are seen without their headscarves. Surveillance cameras search for women uncovered in vehicles to fine and impound their cars. The government has gone as far as use aerial drones to monitor the 2024 Tehran International Book Fair and Kish Island for uncovered women, the UN said.
Yet some feel the election of Pezeshkian in July, after a helicopter crash killed Iranian hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in May, is helping ease tensions over the hijab.
“I think the current peaceful environment is part of the status after Pezeshkian took office,” said Hamid Zarrinjouei, a 38-year-old bookseller. “In some way, Pezeshkian could convince powerful people that more restrictions do not necessarily make women more faithful to the hijab.”
On Wednesday, Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned security forces about starting physical altercations over the hijab.
“We prosecuted violators, and we will,” Movahedi Azad said, according to Iranian media. “Nobody has right to have improper attitude even though an individual commits an offense.”
While the government isn’t directly addressing the increase in women not wearing hijabs, there are other signs of a recognition the political landscape has shifted. In August, authorities dismissed a university teacher a day after he appeared on state television and dismissively referred to Amini as having “croaked.”
Meanwhile, the pre-reform newspaper Ham Mihan reported in August on an unpublished survey conducted under the supervision of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance that found the hijab had become one of the most important issues in the country — something it hadn’t seen previously.
“This issue has been on people’s minds more than ever before,” sociologist Simin Kazemi told the newspaper.
Turkiye to bury activist shot in West Bank
- The killing last week of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has sparked international condemnation and infuriated Turkiye
- Turkiye is also planning to issue international arrest warrants for those responsible for Eygi’s death
DIDIM, Turkiye: Mourners will gather in southwest Turkiye Saturday for the funeral of a US-Turkish activist shot dead while protesting Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The killing last week of 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi has sparked international condemnation and infuriated Turkiye, further escalating tensions over the war in Gaza that began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
Eygi’s body, wrapped in the Turkish flag, arrived at its final resting place in the Aegean town of Didim on Friday following a martyrs’ ceremony at Istanbul’s airport.
Eygi was a frequent visitor to the seaside resort.
The family wanted Eygi to be buried in Didim, where her grandfather lives and her grandmother has been laid to rest.
Ankara said this week it was probing her death and pressed the United Nations for an independent inquiry.
Turkiye is also planning to issue international arrest warrants for those responsible for Eygi’s death depending on the findings of its investigation.
The Israeli military has said it was likely Eygi was hit “unintentionally” by forces while they were responding to a “violent riot.”
A large crowd is expected at the funeral, including members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted AKP party, as well as activists advocating the Palestinian cause.
The burial is scheduled to take place after midday prayers.
The young woman’s body arrived in Istanbul on Friday morning before being transferred to Turkiye’s third-biggest city Izmir, where an autopsy was carried out.
Turkish officials said the findings from the autopsy would be used as evidence for Turkiye’s own probe.
Eygi was shot in the head while taking part in a demonstration on September 6 in the northern part of the occupied West Bank, near Nablus.
Her mother Rabia Birden on Friday urged Turkish officials to pursue justice.
“The only thing I ask of our state is to seek justice for my daughter,” she was quoted as saying by Anadolu news agency.
Erdogan, dedicated to the Palestinian cause, has vowed to ensure “that Aysenur Ezgi’s death does not go unpunished.”
The United Nations said Eygi had been taking part in a “peaceful anti-settlement protest” in Beita, the scene of weekly demonstrations.
Israeli settlements, where about 490,000 people live in the West Bank, are illegal under international law.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for Israel to provide “full accountability” for Eygi’s death.
The Israeli army has acknowledged opening fire in the area and has said it is looking into the case.
An autopsy carried out by three Palestinian doctors pointed to a direct hit that passed through the victim’s skull.
“Aysenur was a very special person. She was sensitive to human rights, to nature, to everything,” said her father Mehmet Suat Eygi, on Thursday outside the family home in Didim.
Morocco sees first mpox case in North Africa during emergency
- With Morocco, 15 African Union member states have reported cases — now across every region of the continent, according to Africa CDC
- Since the beginning of the year, 26,544 cases have been reported in the 15 affected countries, 5,732 of which were confirmed
RABAT: Morocco has recorded a case of mpox in the tourist city of Marrakech, the first in north Africa since the WHO declared an international emergency last month, the Africa CDC said Friday.
“Africa CDC confirms the first mpox case in North Africa for 2024, reported by Morocco’s Ministry of Health” on September 12, a statement on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website said.
With Morocco, 15 African Union member states have reported cases — now across every region of the continent, according to Africa CDC.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.
Sometimes deadly, it causes fever, muscular aches and large boil-like skin lesions.
The 32-year-old patient from Marrakech “tested positive and is receiving treatment,” Africa CDC said.
“The Moroccan authorities have activated emergency operations, deployed a rapid response team and begun epidemiological investigations and contact tracing,” the statement added.
Morocco’s health ministry said separately that the patient was receiving care at a specialized medical center in Marrakech and was “in a stable health condition that does not give cause for concern.”
So far, nobody who has been in contact with the patient is showing symptoms, the ministry added.
The World Health Organization declared an international emergency on August 14, concerned by the surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to nearby countries.
Africa CDC figures show most of the cases are in Central Africa.
According to the agency, since the beginning of the year, 26,544 cases have been reported in the 15 affected countries, 5,732 of which were confirmed. It said that 724 deaths have also been reported.
Tunisian authorities escalate election season crackdown and arrest Islamists
- The mass arrests are the latest to mar an already turbulent election season in Tunisia
TUNIS, Tunisia: Dozens of members of Tunisia’s largest opposition party were arrested this week ahead of this weekend’s formal start of the campaign season for the country’s presidential election, officials of the Islamist party said Friday.
Ennahda, the party that rose to power in the aftermath of the country’s Arab Spring, said Friday that tallies collected by its local branches suggested at least 80 men and women from the party had been apprehended as part of a countywide sweep.
In a statement, Ennahda called the arrests “an unprecedented campaign of raids and violations of the most basic rights guaranteed by law.”
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Ahmed Gaaloul, a member of the party’s executive committee and adviser to its imprisoned leader Rached Ghannouchi, said the party had counted at least 80 arrests and was in the process of checking at least 108 total. The arrests included high-ranking party officials and had continued through Friday afternoon. Among them were Mohamed Guelwi, a member of the party’s executive committee, and Mohamed Ali Boukhatim, a regional party leader from Ben Arous, a suburb of Tunis.
The mass arrests are the latest to mar an already turbulent election season in Tunisia.
With political apathy rampant and the country’s most prominent opposition figures in prison, President Kais Saied has long been expected to win a second term without significant challenge. But the past few months have seen major upheaval. Saied has sacked the majority of his cabinet and authorities have arrested more of his potential opponents. The country’s election authority made up of members he appointed has defied court orders to keep certain challengers off of the October 6 ballot.
Those moves came after months of cascading arrests of journalists, lawyers and leading civil society figures, including many critics of the president charged under a controversial anti-fake news law that human rights groups say has been increasingly used to quash criticism.
Ennahda is still in the process of confirming the nature of each of the arrests but many of those apprehended this week were previously facing charges, Gaaloul said.
The arrested included many senior members of the party involved in Tunisia’s transitional justice process, which includes Ennahda members who were tortured in the years before President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali became the first Arab dictator toppled in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.
Tunisia’s globally acclaimed transitional justice process is a decade-old initiative designed to help victims who suffered at the hands of the government.
Ennahda is no stranger to having party members arrested. Ghannouchi, the party’s 83-year-old leader, has been in prison since April 2023. Multiple high-ranking officials, including members of its shura council and executive committee have also been arrested over the past year. This week’s arrests are the latest since authorities arrested party secretary general Lajmi Lourimi two months ago. Though the party has for more than three years decried arrests, detentions and legal proceedings against its members, Gaaloul said it had not previously seen arrests on a scale similar to this week.
The arrests came as hundreds of Tunisians protested in the North African nation’s capital, decrying the emergence of what they called a police state ahead of the Oct. 6 election. They were roundly condemned by other parties.
“These arrests come as a sign of further narrowing and deviation? of the electoral process aiming at spreading fear and emptying the upcoming election of any chance for a real democratic competition,” Work and Accomplishment, a party led by former Ennahda member Abdellatif Mekki, said in a statement on Friday.
Mekki, who served as Tunisia’s Health Minister from 2011 to 2014, was also arrested in July on murder charges that his attorneys decried as politically motivated. Tunisia’s election authority has said it will defy an administrative court order and keep him off of next month’s ballot.
