Polio vaccination campaign reaches over 82% of targeted children in war-torn Gaza

By Mohammad Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – An ongoing polio vaccination campaign has reached 82.5% of targeted children in the war-torn Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ministry said 527,776 children under the age of 10 received the first dose of the polio vaccine in the Palestinian enclave.

The ministry said medical teams are continuing their efforts “to continue the polio vaccination campaign despite the continuing Israeli aggression.”

"Despite the great danger facing medical teams, families continue to come to vaccination centers to vaccinate their children against polio," the ministry said.

The third and final phase of the campaign began in northern Gaza on Tuesday to vaccinate around 14,000 children against polio. The first and second phases of the campaign covered central and southern Gaza.

Last month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a seven-day humanitarian cease-fire to allow the vaccination of 640,000 children in Gaza.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 95,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar