Second day of polio vaccinations under way in Gaza despite Israeli air strikes

More than 87,000 children have received a first dose of the vaccine, the UN says

Day two of UN-led polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. Mohammed Abu Amra for The National

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The second day of a polio vaccination campaign is under way in Gaza despite Israeli air strikes on several parts of the enclave, the UN and the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Monday.

On Sunday, Palestinian health authorities and UN agencies launched a campaign to issue vaccinations against polio, with more than 87,000 children in Gaza having received a first dose, said the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA).

“Efforts are ongoing to provide children with this key vaccine, but what they need most is a ceasefire now,” UNRWA posted on X.

Mohammed Abu Mossa, who lives in a tent in Deir Al Balah, has had his 18-month-old twins inoculated after learning about the importance of protecting children.

He told The National that after being given assurances of the vaccine's safety, he arranged for his twins to receive the shot.

Medical professionals "gave us the instructions we need to follow and I hope everything will be OK", he added.

Mr Abu Mossa wanted his children immunised because of a lack of hygiene in and around the tents in Deir Al Balah.

"I'm encouraging everyone to vaccinate their children because by doing so you protect your children and ours," he added.

Despite the thousands of vaccinations administered, some remain reluctant to inoculate their children.

Alaa Shubair, a 27-year-old mother in central Gaza, said she is keeping her six-year-old child away from others "until I decide whether to vaccinate him or not".

"I'm researching the vaccine and consulting with doctors on the consequences of not letting my child take it," she told The National.

Eman Silman, a nurse who works in Deir Al Balah clinic, is educating people on the importance of vaccinating their children against the polio virus. "We strongly advise parents to come and have their children vaccinated," she said.

"This campaign is organised by the Ministry of Health, WHO [World Health Organisation], and Unicef. We began administering the vaccine yesterday but prior to that we conducted workshops and educated parents on the vaccine's importance,” Ms Silman told The National.

She said about 3,000 children were vaccinated at the clinic on Sunday, ranging from one day old to 10 years old. "By the end of today, we'd vaccinated around 2,000 more children. We were protected from this disease before but the war has brought this virus [back to Gaza]. The shortage of cleaning supplies has contributed to the spread of the disease."

On Sunday, Gaza's media government office said the vaccination campaign will be overseen by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the enclave, in collaboration with the UN agencies.

Unicef, the WHO and UNRWA have a five-day window to complete the first round of vaccinations in Gaza where more than 40,700 people have been killed since the war began in October. Authorities plan to inoculate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving on to northern and southern parts. The campaign will last for another week.

On Sunday evening, the regional director of Unicef's Middle East and North Africa office, Adele Khodr, said the first day of the vaccination campaign went well.

“If we can have the same level of humanitarian pause tomorrow [Monday] and maintain that pause, and we are very optimistic that, yes, it can go on. All that we are asking for is five days,” she told The National.

However, the vaccination campaign is happening amid continuous Israeli air strikes on various parts of the territory that aren't included in the pause. Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on Al Bureij camp in central Gaza on Monday, while two others were killed in northern Gaza, according to Wafa. Other assaults were also reported in the south.

Gaza health officials said on Sunday an Israeli air strike targeting a group of policemen in a school sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least 11 people, while the military said it had struck a Hamas command centre.

Israel agreed on Thursday to a three-day pause in fighting in certain areas of Gaza for eight hours a day to allow for more than 2,700 healthcare workers to administer the vaccination for at least 90 per cent of children up to 10. The oral inoculations are being offered at 160 sites, including schools, hospitals and medical centres.

The besieged enclave, which has been left without a single fully functioning hospital or water sanitation system, recorded its first polio case in 25 years last month.

Israel allowed about 1.3 million doses to be brought into the territory last month, which are now being held in refrigerated storage in a warehouse in Deir Al Balah. Another shipment of 400,000 doses is set to be delivered to Gaza soon.

A second round of vaccinations will begin on September 17, aimed at 640,000 children in total, according to Unicef and Gazan health officials.