Yedioth Ahronoth: A dangerous spread of bacteria among Israeli soldiers in Gaza
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip faced a rise in cases of intestinal diseases and food poisoning among soldiers, and 2,000 Israeli soldiers received psychiatric help since October 7 Hamas attack.
The Israeli newspaper explained that the Israeli army forces in Gaza faced an extraordinary rise in these disease cases among soldiers during recent weeks.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, 18 soldiers were evacuated from Gaza to the brigade’s training base to receive medical treatment after they were infected with an outbreak of dysentery (Shigella bacteria) and symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting.
Doctors attributed the spread of these bacteria among the occupation forces to a lack of hygiene and food donations from the public, as many restaurants and Israelis used to send food to the occupation soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the Israeli army sent a team to clean the area where the soldiers were staying.
A spokesman for the army said, “This is a one-time incident in which about 18 soldiers contracted intestinal diseases… The fighters were evacuated from the Gaza Strip and received medical care accordingly”.
Yedioth Ahronoth revealed that one of the striking and worrying results is that the shigella bacteria cause dysentery, and in many cases cause severe diarrhea and high temperature, which is a very dangerous disease, and it has spread among occupation soldiers in Gaza, and infection occurs through direct contact between one person and another, or through food.
Dr. Tal Brosh, Director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Assuta General Hospital in Ashdod, explains that the outbreak of this bacteria has operational consequences.
“If there are 10 soldiers in an infantry company who have a fever of 40 degrees and suffer from diarrhea every 20 minutes, they are unfit to fight and themselves are at risk”.
Yedioth Ahronoth quotes one of the soldiers present in Gaza as saying that the bulk of the food in his unit in which he serves comes from food donations, noting that the food of the soldiers is inedible.
According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, around 2,000 soldiers have received psychiatric help since Hamas attack on October 7, including 200 during the first three weeks of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip that began on the 27th of the same month.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation added that between 75 and 80% of these recruits – who were classified as wounded in battle – were able to return to the ranks of their units in the field and continue their participation.
According to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, a wounded person on the battlefield is defined as a soldier who was exposed to an event such as gunfire, confrontation, or injury, or who witnessed serious injuries and dangerous scenes of others, which led to a decline in his level of performance.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation continued that damage at the functional level could be manifested in his reactions, such as isolation, silence, anxiety, tension, or the general difficult feeling that accompanies the soldier in such cases.
