Wounded IDF soldier dies after infection by fungus during Gaza ground op – reports
Soldier was seriously injured in the Strip; some 10 soldiers believed to have contracted same fungus; no confirmation from IDF; doctors warn of dangers of battlefield infections
An IDF soldier has died after he was seriously wounded and was infected with a dangerous strain of fungus while fighting in the Gaza Strip, the Kan public broadcaster reported Tuesday.
The soldier was brought to Assuta Ashdod Medical Center earlier this month with severe injuries to his limbs, the report said.
According to Kan, doctors then found that he had been infected with a fungus in the battlefield.
Despite round-the-clock care and experimental treatments from abroad, the fungus proved to be treatment-resistant and the soldier died.
There has been no public statement to confirm that the soldier’s death was the result of an infection contracted in Gaza from either the military or the hospital.
Prof. Galia Rahav, the chair of the Israeli Association for Infectious Diseases, told Kan that around ten soldiers are believed to have been infected with the same fungus and are undergoing treatment in Israel.
The source of the fungus is believed to be soil that had been contaminated with sewage waste.
The infection can be contracted through wounds sustained by soldiers fighting in Gaza that cannot be kept sterile due to the conditions on the ground.
Kan said officials were checking if the fungus was connected to the vast network of underground tunnels built by the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Prof. Eyal Leshem, director of the Center for Travel Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Sheba Medical Center, told Channel 12 news that field conditions in Gaza meant that wounded soldiers were at risk of infection.
“Some of those wounded in the Gaza Strip have complex infections that are the result of the field conditions. When there is an injury in the field, we tend to see bacteria and fungi that originate from the soil,” Leshem said. “We have known about these infections for many years — American forces operating in Iraq and Afghanistan also reported similar infections.”
“The soil is not sterile, but contains bacteria, molds and fungi,” Leshem said. “When there are open wounds, there is a fear that those agents will penetrate and contaminate the area.”
Prof. Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told Channel 12 that soldiers were not the only ones at risk of infection, and that there were grave concerns for the health of those kidnapped and still held in Gaza.
“There is the potential for life-threatening infections when an individual has injuries in a dirty place. Regarding cases of infection near the fighters, it is worth waiting for the results of laboratory tests to understand what it is exactly.”
Levine noted that similar cases had been seen in hostages released from Gaza.
“Among the hostages who came back, we know of several cases of invasive infections and serious injuries,” Levine said. “Hostages who were injured on October 7, and were treated in poor conditions, suffered from infections.
“Therefore, we are very worried about the contaminated injuries of hostages who have not yet been released, which shows the urgency for the release of the hostages so that they can be brought to Israel for treatment as soon as possible,” he said.
Israel launched its war against Hamas after the terror group led an unprecedented assault into southern Israel on October 7. Some 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, were massacred.
Another approximately 240 people were kidnapped. It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive.
Meanwhile, there is an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with the collapse of basic services in the enclave and a massive displaced civilian population.
The United Nations has warned of increasing concerns of further spread of disease in Gaza, particularly during rains and flooding.
