Gaza to see temporary peace as Israel agrees to 'humanitarian pauses' for polio vaccination
A health worker administers polio vaccine drops to a child | Representative image
The United Nations' (UN) World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday (August 29) saidthat a temporary pausein the ongoing conflictin Gaza will go into effectto facilitate polio vaccinations for the hundreds of thousands of children in the Palestinian enclave. The decision follows the confirmation of the first polio case in 25 years within the Palestinian territory, where a baby has been affected.
These "humanitarian pauses,"will last three days in different parts of the conflict-stricken area. The vaccination campaign is set to begin on Sunday (September 1) in central Gaza, according to Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories.
Peeperkorn announced that after a three-day pause in southern Gaza, there will be a similar pause in northern Gaza. Each of these breaks is expected to last between eight and nine hours daily.
"I’m not going to say this is the ideal way forward. But this is a workable way forward," WHO's representative in the Palestinian territoriessaid.
He added, "It will happen and should happen because we have an agreement."
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Peeperkorn said WHO aimsto vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10, and noted that the vaccination drive has been organised in coordination with Israeli authorities.
First case of polio in 25 years
On August 23, the WHO saidthat a 10-month-old infant in Gaza had been paralysed by type 2 polio virus, marking the first case in the region in 25 years. In response, UN agencies have urged for immediate vaccination of all infants.
The agencies had previouslycalled onboth Israel and the Palestinianmilitant group Hamas to agree to a seven-day humanitarian pause in their ongoing conflict to enable vaccination efforts.
"Polio does not distinguish between Palestinian and Israeli children,"the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) wrote in a post on X.
(With inputs from agencies)