Gaza City – Palestinians from the southern part of the Gaza Strip thronged medical centers in droves on Thursday to have their children vaccinated for polio. This represents the second leg of what is a vaccination campaign targeted at 640,000 children across the entire region. The vaccine drive follows confirmation of the first case of polio in the Gaza region, 25 years after the area had been declared free of the disease.
These vaccination breaks have made it possible for 187,000 children to be vaccinated so far. The UNRWA labeled this phase as successful, but pointed at the complexity brought about by continued violence.
Conflict and Humanitarian Crisis
The vaccination goes on, yet the War in Gaza is still unstoppable. Health authorities have been reporting casualties from recent Israeli airstrikes, including a devastating attack on the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, killing five people taking refuge there.
In response, Israeli military officials said the airstrike had targeted a Hamas command center involved in planning attacks on the Israeli army. Elsewhere around Gaza, troops confronted Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters.
Diplomatic Impasse
While efforts have been going on for some time to secure a permanent ceasefire, recent U.S. diplomatic efforts aim at addressing key issues in the U.S.-, Qatar-, and Egypt-mediated negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the conflict will end only with the complete dismantling of Hamas. On its part, however, Hamas demands a no-conditions, full withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza.
The conflict broke out on October 7 after a massive Hamas attack on southern Israel killed over 1,200 Israelis and abducted more than 250 hostages. Since then, however, some 40,800 Palestinians have been reported to have been killed in Gaza, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
Appeal from UNRWA
UNRWA has called for respect of the temporary lulls in fighting, as a means of protecting the safety of the families and humanitarian workers conducting the vaccination campaign throughout the war zones in Khan Younis and Rafah.
Meanwhile, the unfolding crisis is a grim reminder of the urgent need for a durable ceasefire and proper humanitarian intervention in the face of the dire situation the residents of Gaza continue to endure.
