Gaza authorities announce start of second round of polio vaccinations

Continuing Israeli attacks and siege in the north raise fears about success of campaign

Patients being evacuated from Kamal Adwan Hospital near Jabalia in northern Gaza to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. Palestine Red Crescent Society via Reuters

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The second round of the emergency polio vaccination campaign targeting children in Gaza will begin on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan.

The campaign aims to vaccinate 591,700 children under the age of 10, utilising both mobile and fixed teams to ensure comprehensive coverage across the strip, Wafa quoted the Gaza Health Ministry as saying.

The ministry said the campaign's success hinged on the continuation of the humanitarian truces needed to allow health workers to operate safely and ensure that families have access to the vaccinations.

The first round of vaccinations was conducted in early September after an infant was diagnosed with polio in the first case to be reported in the Palestinian territories since they were declared free of the polio virus 25 years earlier. The campaign was conducted in three stages, starting in central Gaza before moving to the south and then north, with pauses in fighting to allow with health workers to administer the vaccines.

UN officials said on Friday that an Israeli offensive and evacuation orders in northern Gaza might affect the second phase of the vaccination campaign.

The Israeli army on Sunday continued its siege on Jabalia camp for an eighth day and blew up houses with “explosive robots”, Wafa said.

Israeli forces have started constructing “earthen barriers” between Gaza city and northern parts of the enclave, Wafa added, making escape from the besieged areas even more difficult.

Conditions in the north are worsening, with starvation mounting and food aid blocked from entering the area since October 1.

“There might be some flour in north Gaza but not much beyond that,” said Hani Almadhoun from the UN's Palestinian refugee agency. “A lot of people are starving. We have had this for a while but it has gotten worse since October,” he told the BBC.

The death toll from Israel's military offensive in Gaza since October 7 last year rose to 42,227 on Sunday following Israeli attacks that killed at least 52 Palestinians and injured 128 others, according to local health authorities. The number of injured rose to 98,464.

At least 29 people were killed by air strikes across Gaza overnight, Wafa said, including six children who died in an attack on a house in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Five more children were killed in an air strike in northern Gaza on Sunday, Wafa reported, citing sources in the area. The children were playing near a cafe in the Al Shati area when they were killed by a drone strike, it said.