The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for limited pauses in the fighting in Gaza to allow for polio vaccination for nearly 640,000 children under the age of ten in the Strip, reported Reuters.
Polio Vaccination Campaign
The pauses will start on Sunday, September 1, in the form of separate, three-day pauses across three zones. The pauses will take place between 6 am and 3 pm, according to the WHO representative for the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn.
In a video conference, he said that the first phase of the campaign will start in central Gaza with a pause in fighting for three days. Then, it will move to southern Gaza, with another three-day pause, and finally to northern Gaza. He added that the WHO could extend the humanitarian pause in each zone to a fourth day if needed.
Hamas has expressed its willingness to cooperate with the polio vaccination campaign. In the light of this, Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters: “We are ready to cooperate with international organizations to secure this campaign, serving and protecting more than 650,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip.”
Meanwhile, the Israeli military unit responsible for approving aid into Gaza, COGAT, said on Wednesday that the polio vaccination campaign will be undertaken in coordination with the Israeli military “as part of the routine humanitarian pauses that will allow the population to reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered.”
Polio Infections
On August 23, the WHO confirmed the first case of type 2 polio virus in Gaza in 25 years. Since the war erupted in the Strip, following Hamas October 7 attack on Israel, Gaza’s polio vaccine coverage has fallen to just over 80%. However, Gaza needs more than 90% coverage to prevent the outbreak in the besieged enclave, according to Peeperkorn.
Polio is highly infectious and can cause paralysis and may lead to death. In most cases, it infects children under 5 years old. Although it has no cure, immunization can play a vital role in its prevention.
