UN agencies have delayed an emergency polio vaccine campaign in northern Gaza because of intense Israeli bombardments, mass relocation and lack access.
The final phase of two-stage rollout, prompted by Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years that left a paralyzed baby boy, was scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Nearly 120,000 children were expected to receive the second dose of oral polio vaccination in northern Gaza.
Israel’s military launched a new offensive against Hamas fighters in the Jabalia region, claiming that it was a response to a regrouping of Hamas fighters.
Since the offensive began two weeks ago, more than 400 people have been reported dead and 60,000 have been displaced.
Residents who refuse or are unable to comply to Israeli evacuation orders live in increasingly desperate circumstances, with food and essential supplies running low.
Medical experts warned that delays in administering a second dose of polio vaccine could undermine efforts to stop the spread of the potentially deadly, contagious disease.
To achieve herd immunity, 90% of children in each community and neighbourhood must receive a minimum two doses.
Between 1 and 12 Septembre, the first round of the vaccination campaign reached 559,000 children aged under 10 in three phases, in Gaza’s southern, central, and northern areas. During this time, Israel and Palestinian groups agreed on local “humanitarian breaks”.
After the start of the 2nd round on 14th October, more than 442 000 children in central and south areas received the 2nd dose – 94% the target in these areas.
In a statement released on Wednesday, UN agencies stated that they were forced to postpone a third phase of vaccinations for 119,000 children in the north.
It said that “the current conditions, including the ongoing attacks on civil infrastructure, continue to threaten people’s safety and mobility in northern Gaza. This makes it impossible for families and health workers to safely bring their child for vaccination and to operate.”
“All logistic, supplies and trained personnel were prepared,” they said. “However, due to the fact that the area currently approved by the UN for temporary humanitarian pauses has been substantially reduced, now limited to Gaza City – a significant reduction from the first round – many children in northern Gaza will have missed the polio vaccination dose.”
UN agencies stressed that it was vital to facilitate the vaccine campaign in northern countries by implementing humanitarian pauses, which would allow children to access the vaccines wherever they may be.
Cogat, the Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid shipments to Gaza and coordinating the vaccination campaign, announced that the campaign would start in the next few days. “We will continue to facilitate a successful vaccination campaign against polio in Gaza,” the statement added.
The World Health Organization representative in Gaza told the BBC he hoped that the campaign will begin within the next seven days.
“We cannot stop it now.” Richard Peeperkorn, Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, said: “We are almost there.”
He also described the “enormous devastation” and “active bombing all over the place” he witnessed earlier this week, during a WHO-led mission to evacuate 14 hospital patients from the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia – one of two hospitals that are barely functional near Jabalia.
“We had no choice but to stay the night at Kamal Adwan.” The hospital was under heavy bombardment. “What these patients have to endure every night,” said he.
“I could see that we couldn’t do a polio vaccination campaign in those conditions and in that environment. Parents would not have been able bring their children. Teams would not have been able move around.
Dr Peeperkorn stated that the hospital received hundreds of injured patients and many dead bodies in the past two days.
The Israeli military announced on Wednesday morning that its troops have killed “numerous terrorists”, and found weapons, during ongoing operations in the Jabalia region.
It also stated that the troops “apprehended hundreds of terrorists while facilitating safe evacuations of thousands of civilians”.
Hamas’ Civil Defence agency in Gaza said that its rescue workers recovered two bodies from a building in the Beit-Lahia Project area destroyed by an Israeli strike overnight. It added that two children and their mother died at a house in the al-Zarqa region, north of Gaza City.
Later on Wednesday, Civil Defence reported a number of deaths in a strike against a school housing displaced people in Gaza City. A graphic video posted online showed the bodies of several males lying in the courtyard at al-Zahraa School.
The Israeli military claimed that it had carried out “a precise attack on Hamas terrorists operating inside a control centre”.
A driver for the UN agency of Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), was killed by a strike on an UN-marked lorry, in the central town Deir al-Balah.
Unrwa and the Israeli military did not immediately comment.
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