The Israeli military and Hamas have consented to three separate three-day pauses in fighting across the Gaza Strip to facilitate a critical polio vaccination campaign, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday.
The campaign aims to vaccinate approximately 640,000 children against polio, starting this Sunday.
The vaccination drive will commence in central Gaza, where a three-day ceasefire will allow safe passage to medical centers for children and their families.
Following this, similar pauses will be implemented in southern and northern Gaza, respectively. Rik Peeperkorn, a senior WHO official for the region, mentioned that each pause could be extended to a fourth day if necessary to ensure all children in the designated zones receive their vaccinations.
This campaign comes in response to the first confirmed case of polio paralysis in Gaza in 25 years, as reported by the WHO on August 23. The virus, identified as type 2 polio, paralyzed an infant, heightening the urgency for widespread immunization.
COGAT, the Israeli military’s humanitarian unit, confirmed that the vaccination campaign would be carried out in coordination with Israeli forces, ensuring that the temporary ceasefires will allow the population to reach the designated medical centers for vaccination.
