Gaza parents seek end to war and hunger more than polio vaccinations

Hungry and homeless Gazans say Israeli attacks must stop before inoculations go ahead

A Palestinian child receives polio vaccine drops in the central Gaza city of Deir Al Balah. EPA

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Parents in Gaza have lamented the UN's decision to suspend polio vaccinations for young children in the enclave but said it pales in comparison to the threat of death and hunger as Israel intensifies a siege on the north.

The UN and Palestinian partners postponed the third and final phase of inoculations in Gaza's north on Wednesday “due to escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses”, Unicef said.

Vaccinations began on September 1 after the World Health Organisation found a baby had been left partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, in the first case in Gaza for 25 years. The suspension affects more than 119,000 children who were due to receive inoculations across the north of the territory.

“It doesn’t matter to us anymore if our children get vaccinated or not, whether it’s postponed or on time,” said Sanaa Hamouda, a 62-year-old displaced Palestinian sheltering in the Jabalia refugee camp, currently under Israeli siege. “If the children don’t die from disease, they’ll die from the ongoing massacre that the world is witnessing. The children are going to perish from lack of food and water.

“We made sure the children got their first vaccine earlier when there was some stability … But now, whether they postpone it or stop it altogether, it doesn’t make a difference to us, our children, or anyone else.”

The UN said the suspension would “seriously jeopardise” efforts to stop the transmission of polio and risked more children being paralysed by the disease, but parents said ending the violence was the priority.

“The whole world is watching us die and, at the same time, expects us to vaccinate our children,” said Mahdi Al Masri, a 38-year-old from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. “If you really care about us, stop the genocide. Don’t be concerned about rescheduling vaccinations to fit around Israeli military operations and the atrocities happening to us. I have a son and a daughter who were supposed to be vaccinated, but honestly, I won’t do it.”

Unicef said it was impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccinations and health workers could not operate securely under current conditions.

Two employees of the UN's relief agency for Palestinian refugees were killed in an Israeli attack on Deir Al Balah in central Gaza on Wednesday, the official Wafa news agency reported. Witnesses said Israeli shelling targeted a UN-marked vehicle on Salah Al Din Road in the south of the city. Several other people were wounded, Wafa added.

More than 220 UNRWA workers have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Israel-Hamas war began just over a year ago – the deadliest conflict for the organisation since its inception in 1945.

Israeli forces began a military siege on Gaza's north around three weeks ago, blocking the entry of aid and medical assistance to Jabalia refugee camp. Bodies have been seen strewn across Jabalia's streets, while northern Gaza's Indonesian Hospital was set on fire by Israeli forces on Monday, authorities and witnesses told The National. Israel has said its goal is to eradicate the operational infrastructure of Gaza-based militant group Hamas. Last week Israeli forces killed the leader of the group, Yahya Sinwar, but the violence has since continued unabated.

UNRWA has called for a temporary truce to allow departures from the north, where it said people are “waiting to die” after weeks of Israeli bombardment.

“It is crucial to create the necessary conditions to urgently resume the campaign in the north by implementing humanitarian pauses and ensuring access to all areas where children under the age of ten are located,” Inas Hamdan, Gaza acting public information officer at UNRWA, told The National.

Some parents in Gaza said they were still hopeful their children would receive vaccinations despite the fighting.

“Many people have already given their children the first dose and are now waiting for the second,” said Malak Ayyad, a 27-year-old resident of the Al Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza city. “I gave my daughter her first dose and she’s supposed to get her second. While the vaccine won’t protect us from death or shield our children from fear and terror, it is better than not taking it because we need to protect them with whatever is available. Vaccination remains important because if a child is already sick, they’re more vulnerable to starvation.”