WHO calls for respect to Gaza humanitarian pause zones amid recent evacuation order

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday urged parties to respect humanitarian pause zones in the north as some parts of the zones fall under Israeli evacuation orders.

"Some areas in the north where evacuation orders were issued are part of the humanitarian pause zones," Tarik Jasarevic, WHO spokesperson, told a UN briefing in Geneva.

Jasarevic urged: "We appeal to all parties to continue ensuring these humanitarian pause zones are respected during the campaign."

His remarks came following the Israeli army's recent call for evacuation due to rocket fire from the northern Gaza Strip at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.

The spokesperson also said the three-day polio campaign in the north is going ahead from Tuesday and vaccines, cold chain equipment and finger markers were delivered to north Gaza on Monday.

However, Jasarevic said: "Yesterday, a WHO mission carrying fuel for hospitals and vehicles for the polio campaign as well as campaign monitoring experts was impeded."

"It took three hours for the mission to get greenlight to move followed by 5 hours at the holding point, after which the mission had to be aborted," he said. "We are trying to reach the north again today with fuel and for the medical evacuation of 8 patients to the south."

He underscored that the persistent absence of a functional deconfliction system makes delivering humanitarian aid "incredibly difficult."

"We call for safe and sustained access to the north and for a functional deconfliction system, which still remains a challenge 11 months into the war," he urged.

The polio vaccination campaign in south and central Gaza has concluded on Monday with over 446,000 children being vaccinated since the start of the campaign on Sept. 1, according to the spokesperson.