Israel Polio vaccination in the Gaza Strip to continue now

The second round of polio vaccinations in the north of the Gaza Strip is due to resume on Saturday after an interruption due to heavy fighting. "We have been assured of the necessary humanitarian pause in the city of Gaza to carry out the campaign," wrote the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on X.

He called on the warring parties to respect the pauses in fighting. When asked, Israel's army did not initially comment on whether and to what extent it had promised a pause in hostilities in the area.

However, the promised safe area is smaller than during the first round of vaccinations in September, according to Tedros. It is therefore to be feared that not all children under the age of ten will be reached and that some children will therefore only receive insufficient protection against infection with the polio virus. The WHO chief did not provide details on how much smaller the area is now and how many children will presumably not be reached.

The vaccination round will initially last at least three days, possibly longer, according to the Israeli military authority responsible for Palestinian affairs, Cogat. Children are to receive the vaccination between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time (5 a.m. to 3 p.m. CET). An agreement with partners from the international community ensures that people can reach medical facilities safely.

The round of vaccinations in the northern part of the Gaza Strip had to be interrupted just over a week ago due to heavy bombardments and the new displacement of residents. Israel's army had previously intensified its attacks on suspected hideouts of the terrorist organization Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip. The safety of vaccination personnel was no longer guaranteed.

In the central and southern Gaza Strip, almost 443,000 children have already received their second dose of vaccine. According to the WHO, around 120,000 children in the north should have been vaccinated.

SDA