More than 189,000 children were vaccinated in the first phase of the campaign in central Gaza.

Israel has refused to coordinate the entry of medical teams for polio vaccination in areas east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Gaza’s Health Ministry has said.

The area contains “a large percentage of the target group of children,” the ministry noted in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry appealed to relevant institutions “to urgently intervene to ensure the success of the vaccination campaign by reaching all children wherever they are.”

The second phase of a polio vaccination campaign for Palestinian children in southern Gaza began on Thursday.

More than 189,000 children were vaccinated in the first phase of the campaign in central Gaza.

Polio Vaccine Campaign Requires ‘Security and Access Guarantee’ in Gaza – WHO

“We started today the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Khan Younis city,” Dr Abdul Hadi Seyam told the Anadolu news agency.

“The campaign targets children under the age of ten, and there is significant interest from parents in vaccinating their children against this serious disease,” Seyam added.

He noted that medical teams were working with all their capabilities to vaccinate as many children as possible in the besieged enclave.

Baby Paralyzed

The Palestinian Ministry of Health declared Gaza a polio epidemic zone at the end of July, and on August 16 confirmed the first case of polio in a 10-month-old child.

On the same date, the World Health Organization (WHO) said “three children presenting with suspected acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), a common symptom of polio, have since been reported in the Gaza Strip.”

‘WHO Gravely Concerned’ – Gaza Baby Suffers Paralysis after Contracting Polio  

On August 23, the WHO confirmed that the baby had developed paralysis in one leg, after contracting the Type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.

In 2022, polio vaccination rates in Gaza were “optimal,” at around 99 per cent, the organization said, adding that by early 2024, those rates had dropped to below 90 per cent.

‘Lift Blockade’

Human Rights Watch warned last month that if the Israeli government “continues to block urgent aid and destroy water and waste management infrastructure, it will facilitate the spread of a disease that has been nearly eradicated globally.”

Julia Bleckner, senior health and human rights researcher at HRW said “Israel’s partners should press the government to lift the blockade immediately and ensure unfettered humanitarian access in Gaza to enable the timely distribution of vaccines to contain the unfolding polio outbreak,” Bleckner added.

‘Lift Blockade Immediately’ – HRW Warns Israeli Onslaught Fueling Polio Crisis in Gaza 

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,878 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,454 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Israel Targets Displaced Tents, Residential Neighborhoods – Gaza Genocide Continues

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, Anadolu)