Israeli strikes kill almost 50 in Gaza as WHO rolls out polio vaccine campaign
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday began its campaign to vaccinate around 640,000 children in Gaza against polio amid renewed Israeli strikes that killed at least 48 people in the enclave. Israel on Thursday had agreed to daily eight-hour pauses in its military operations in specific areas of Gaza to allow the vaccinations to proceed.
Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 48 people in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health authorities said, as clashes took place in central and southern areas of the enclave ahead of the planned start of a polio vaccination campaign.
The United Nations is due to start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the territory against polio, relying on daily eight-hour pauses in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in specific areas of the besieged enclave.
Yousef Abu Al-Reesh, Gaza’s deputy minister of health, said vaccination teams would try to get to as many areas as possible to ensure wide coverage but he said only a comprehensive ceasefire could guarantee enough children are reached.
“If the international community truly wants this campaign to succeed, it should call for a ceasefire, knowing that this virus does not stop, and can reach anywhere,” he told reporters at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
On Saturday, medics administered vaccines on some of the children at Nasser Hospital wards in a symbolic move before the official campaign begins.
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