A large-scale polio vaccination campaign was launched in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, in cooperation between the United Nations and the Palestinian health authorities. The campaign aims to vaccinate 640,000 children across the Strip, after the occupation approved the campaign, which will continue over the coming days.
Clashes are supposed to stop for 8 hours a day for 3 consecutive days in designated areas to allow the campaign to take place. The pauses in fighting may need to be extended for a fourth day, as the World Health Organization hopes to vaccinate at least 90% of children with two doses of the vaccine, spaced 4 weeks apart.
Despite the campaign’s efforts, Israeli forces continued their military operations in different areas of the Strip. Residents of the Strip reported that Israeli forces blew up houses in Rafah near the border with Egypt, while tanks continued their operations in the Zeitoun neighborhood north of Gaza City.
The Israeli army also announced today the recovery of the bodies of 6 hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza, who are believed to have been killed shortly before Israeli forces reached them.
Complex campaign
For her part, the Director of Communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Juliette Touma, described the campaign as “one of the most complex campaigns in the world.” She added, “This campaign represents a test for both parties to the conflict to commit to the pauses to allow UNRWA teams and medical workers to reach children.”
Touma stressed that children are still at risk from a virus that knows no borders, checkpoints or battle lines, which makes vaccinating every child in Gaza vital to reduce the risk of the spread of this disease.
Last month, the World Health Organization confirmed the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years, with an infant partially paralyzed by the type 2 poliovirus. The case raised serious concerns about the potential for the virus to spread to the territory, which is suffering from the repercussions of the ongoing war of extermination.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that at least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed and 94,060 wounded since the start of the war. The vaccination campaign comes amid these massive losses, as the Israeli aggression continues with American support and the difficult health conditions in the Gaza Strip worsen.