WHO declares a three-day ceasefire in Gaza conflict to facilitate polio immunization
The Israeli military and Hamas have consented to three-day ceasefires in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the vaccination of approximately 640,000 children against polio, according to a senior official from the UN World Health Organization.
Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the Palestinian territories, announced that the “humanitarian pauses” will commence on Sunday in central Gaza and will extend for only eight or nine hours daily over a span of three days.
After that, there will be a similar pause in southern Gaza, followed by yet another one in northern Gaza.
Peeperkorn mentioned during a video conference with reporters that the campaign’s goal is to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10. He noted that the team of over 2,000 health workers from UN agencies and Gaza’s Health Ministry may require several extra days to finish administering the vaccines.
“We absolutely require this humanitarian pause,” he stated. “This has been made very clear, and there is an agreement in place. Therefore, we anticipate that all parties will adhere to it.”
The WHO emphasized the importance of vaccinating a minimum of 90% of children in Gaza to halt the spread of polio.
“I’m not claiming this is the best possible path ahead. However, Peeperkorn described it as a feasible solution,” he said regarding the humanitarian pauses.
“It is bound to occur and is expected to happen since we have an agreement,” he remarked afterwards.
The deal was reached following an incident where a 10-month-old infant became partially paralyzed due to a mutated strain of the virus, which had been excreted by vaccinated individuals.
Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian, born shortly before Israel’s conflict with Gaza began on October 7, was among the countless children unable to receive vaccinations due to the war.
These humanitarian pauses do not constitute a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which mediators such as Qatar and Egypt have been attempting to negotiate in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, Hamas declared its willingness “to collaborate with international organizations to ensure the success of this initiative,” as stated by Basem Naim, a political bureau member of the resistance movement.
On October 7, Israel initiated military actions against Gaza in response to the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm carried out by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. This operation was a reaction to the longstanding violence and destruction inflicted by the Israeli regime on Palestinians.
The regime’s violent assault on Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 40,602 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children, and has left 93,855 others injured. Additionally, thousands are unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped under debris.
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