A polio vaccination center was ‘hit’ on Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. According to her, ‘six people, including four children, were injured’. Israel denied firing at the center.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not specify the exact nature of the ‘attack’, or who was behind it. ‘The primary health care center in Sheikh Radouane, northern Gaza, was hit today as parents brought their children for polio vaccination, in an area where a humanitarian pause had been agreed to allow the continuation of vaccination’, he wrote on X.
‘Sacred’ protection
Dr Tedros judged that ‘this attack, during a humanitarian pause, jeopardizes the sanctity of children’s health protection and may dissuade parents from bringing their children for vaccination’. ‘These vital humanitarian pauses must be absolutely respected. Ceasefire!’, he said.
A member of the Gaza Civil Defense told AFP that at least three people had been injured by debris from a missile fired by an Israeli drone on a wall of the health center, located at west of Gaza City.
Israeli denial
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army denied having fired on the vaccination center. “An initial review (of the accusations) determined that the army did not carry out a strike on this area at the indicated time,” she said in a statement, stressing that she had participated in the coordination of the vaccination campaign.
The polio vaccination campaign resumed this Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip, currently the scene of intense Israeli military operations.
The WHO and the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) were assured that the areas dedicated to vaccination, where parents can bring their children to receive the second dose of the oral vaccine, were protected.
119,000 children to be vaccinated
According to the WHO, some 119,000 children in the north are waiting for their second dose of vaccine to protect them from this disease which can leave serious after-effects.
The WHO launched a vaccination campaign in Gaza on September 1, after the confirmation of the first case of polio in 25 years in the Palestinian territory besieged by Israel. This is the only case detected at the moment but the dangerous nature of the disease has prompted action quickly.
Health authorities estimate that 90% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the disease from spreading. A first series of vaccinations was successfully completed at the beginning of September. More than 560,000 children under the age of 10 received a first dose during the first vaccination cycle.
/ATS
