Israel has agreed to implement a series of “humanitarian pauses” in its military operations in Gaza to facilitate the vaccination of children against polio, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The vaccination campaign, set to begin on Sunday, aims to reach approximately 640,000 children across the Gaza Strip, as announced by senior WHO official Rik Peeperkorn.
The campaign will be conducted in three phases, targeting the central, southern, and northern regions of Gaza.
During each phase, hostilities will be halted for three consecutive days, from 06:00 to 15:00 local time, to allow the safe administration of vaccines.
This initiative follows a recent report by UN officials confirming Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years, which left a 10-month-old baby partially paralyzed.
Currently, around 1.26 million doses of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) are available in Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses expected to arrive soon.
The vaccinations will be administered by UN staff and local healthcare workers, supported by over 2,000 trained health and community outreach personnel.
UN spokeswoman Louise Wateridge has called for a broader ceasefire to ensure the vaccination program can be carried out safely.
“We cannot vaccinate children under a sky full of bombs and strikes, we cannot vaccinate children who are fleeing for their lives,” she told Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday.
“Any military operations during the time we are trying to roll out a vaccination campaign will affect our ability to deliver these vaccinations to children,” she explained.
Israel has agreed to implement a series of “humanitarian pauses” in its military operations in Gaza to facilitate the vaccination of children against polio, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The vaccination campaign, set to begin on Sunday, aims to reach approximately 640,000 children across the Gaza Strip, as announced by senior WHO official Rik Peeperkorn.
The campaign will be conducted in three phases, targeting the central, southern, and northern regions of Gaza. During each phase, hostilities will be halted for three consecutive days, from 06:00 to 15:00 local time, to allow the safe administration of vaccines.
This initiative follows a recent report by UN officials confirming Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years, which left a 10-month-old baby partially paralyzed.
Currently, around 1.26 million doses of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) are available in Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses expected to arrive soon.
The vaccinations will be administered by UN staff and local healthcare workers, supported by over 2,000 trained health and community outreach personnel.
UN spokeswoman Louise Wateridge has called for a broader ceasefire to ensure the vaccination program can be carried out safely.
Hamas official Basem Naim told the Reuters news agency: “We are ready to cooperate with international organisations to secure this campaign, serving and protecting more than 650,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the series of three-day pauses were “not a ceasefire.”
James Kariuki, UK deputy permanent representative to the UN, said he “strongly” welcomed the vaccination plan.
“We now need to see this in action, and these pauses need to be long enough to deliver the 90% coverage required.
When the campaign starts and thousands of vulnerable and unaccompanied children gather at vaccination sites, they must all be protected,” he added.
Prof Hagai Levine, a spokesman for the Hostages Families Forum – a group which is calling for more action to secure the release of Israeli hostages – urged health workers to ensure those still being held are included in the vaccination campaign.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 40,530 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.