Israeli airstrikes force delay of polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza

On the eve of World Polio Day on October 24, WHO emphasizes that humanitarian pauses are critical to the smooth progress of vaccination campaigns, allowing partners to deliver vaccine supplies to health facilities, allowing families to travel safely to vaccination sites, and ensuring that mobile health teams can reach communities and vaccinate children.

However, due to the continued escalation of violence, frequent air strikes, large-scale evacuation orders and the lack of a guaranteed humanitarian pause, the Gaza Polio Technical Committee was forced to postpone the third and final phase of the vaccination campaign, which was originally scheduled to start on Wednesday.

This round of vaccination campaign was jointly initiated by organizations including the Palestinian Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, aiming to vaccinate 119,279 children in northern Gaza.

The plight worsens

Currently, 400,000 people are trapped in northern Gaza, facing an evacuation order issued by the Israel Defense Forces and a year of bombing. The conflict stems from the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year. The attack led to the kidnapping of 250 hostages, of which more than 100 are still stranded in Gaza.

UNRWA, the World Health Organization and other UN agencies on Tuesday called on Israeli authorities to immediately open passage for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

WHO pointed out that the current situation, especially the continued attacks on civilian infrastructure, seriously threatens the safety and freedom of movement of people in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely take their children for vaccination and posing great challenges to the work of health workers.

Call for humanitarian ceasefire

WHO stressed that it is crucial to stop the polio outbreak as soon as possible to prevent more children from becoming paralyzed and the virus from spreading. Therefore, an immediate humanitarian pause must be implemented to facilitate the vaccination campaign in northern Gaza and ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated.

WHO and UNICEF urge all parties to ensure the protection of civilians, health workers and civilian infrastructure such as schools, shelters and hospitals, and reiterate their call for an immediate ceasefire.