The vaccination campaign, a joint effort between the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the United Nations (including UNICEF), and several non-governmental organizations, aims to vaccinate approximately 640,000 Palestinian children under the age of 10. The initiative was launched after the confirmation of the first polio case in Gaza in 25 years, detected in a 10-month-old infant from Deir al-Balah. The poliovirus was identified in water samples from Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah in late June.
Despite an agreement announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) last Thursday, which stated that Israel had consented to a series of three-day humanitarian truces in various sections of the Gaza Strip to facilitate the vaccination campaign, Israeli military attacks have continued unabated. The central Gaza Strip, where the vaccination effort began, has been particularly targeted by Israeli aircraft and tanks.
In one of the recent attacks, Palestinian Rami Rashad Nofal was killed, and several others were injured in an airstrike on the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza. The area also faced artillery shelling and at least three air raids. Additionally, Israeli vehicles breached the northwest of Nuseirat, while artillery fire targeted the western part of the new camp in the same region.
These attacks have coincided with peak family movements as parents take their children to designated vaccination centers. Some strikes have occurred near these centers, jeopardizing the vaccination process critical for preventing the spread of the poliovirus among children in the besieged enclave.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that Israeli strikes have also targeted Palestinian clinics and hospitals, further hindering the vaccination campaign. One such incident occurred at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on August 31, resulting in three Palestinian deaths and numerous injuries.
The organization has called on the international community to exert pressure on Israel to cease its military actions immediately, ensuring that the polio vaccination campaign can be completed swiftly and effectively. Euro-Med also held Israel fully responsible for the safety of Palestinian children, citing the ongoing conflict and blockade as key contributors to the current public health crisis.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus echoed this sentiment, stating on social media platform X that "the best vaccine for Gaza’s children is peace." He stressed the critical need for the vaccination campaign to continue uninterrupted. (ILKHA)