Aug 5, 2025
Dr. Munir al-Bursh, Gaza’s Health Director. (Photo: via Gaza government media office)
Dr. Munir al-Bursh says Gaza faces mass death from disease and starvation as Guillain-Barré cases surge and medical aid remains blocked.
Dr. Munir al-Bursh, Director General of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, has warned that contaminated water is the leading cause of the recent outbreak of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in the besieged enclave. He stressed that no treatment for the disease is currently available in Gaza.
Speaking to Al-Jazeera, al-Bursh explained that the illness, which often begins with a sudden loss of muscle control starting in the legs and spreading upwards, is particularly affecting children.
At least 95 cases have been documented so far, including 45 children. Those afflicted are experiencing severe neurological deterioration, including breathing difficulties, which can escalate to life-threatening conditions.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health reported three deaths from GBS. It attributed the outbreak to atypical infections and the worsening of acute malnutrition amid the ongoing blockade and conflict.
The ministry has warned that the disease could spread rapidly due to Gaza’s deteriorating health infrastructure and the lack of medical treatment.
Al-Bursh said that the ministry had previously alerted the World Health Organization following the emergence of GBS in the population. He described a situation of “wholesale death,” resulting both from Israeli bombardments and the targeting of civilians at aid distribution points.
He underscored the severe overcrowding in Gaza, noting that the population is now concentrated in just 18% of the Strip’s territory, with around 40,000 people per square kilometer—conditions that accelerate the transmission of infectious diseases.
According to al-Bursh, more than 18,000 children have been killed since the war began, while disease continues to ravage Gaza’s youngest and most vulnerable. In addition to GBS, he reported 1,116 recorded cases of meningitis in 2025, alongside widespread outbreaks of respiratory and other infectious diseases.
He warned that the health crisis could become even more catastrophic if the war and blockade continue, with growing numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition and a total lack of access to milk and other essential supplies. Vulnerable groups—including children and chronically ill patients—are the first to be affected by starvation, which is now spreading to the adult population.
Al-Bursh said that Gaza is nearing the fifth stage of famine—a classification indicating mass starvation and widespread deaths—due to the ongoing siege and the refusal of the Israeli occupation to allow humanitarian aid and essential nutritional supplies to enter the Strip.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health confirmed five additional deaths due to famine and malnutrition, raising the total number of hunger-related fatalities to 180, including 93 children.
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