Gaza strikes claim 48 lives ahead of polio vaccination campaign

Health officials scramble as airstrikes disrupt efforts to vaccinate 640,000 children against polio

KARAHI:

Israeli airstrikes resulted in at least 48 fatalities in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials on Saturday. This escalation in violence occurred amid clashes in central and southern Gaza, just before a scheduled polio vaccination campaign was set to commence.

The United Nations plans to vaccinate approximately 640,000 children in Gaza against polio, contingent on daily eight-hour ceasefires between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in specific regions of the besieged territory.

Yousef Abu Al-Reesh, Gaza's deputy health minister, stated that vaccination teams would attempt to cover as many areas as possible, but emphasised that only a complete ceasefire would ensure sufficient reach for the campaign. He urged the international community to advocate for a ceasefire, highlighting the persistent risk of the virus spreading.

In a preliminary gesture before the campaign officially begins, medics administered vaccines to some children at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. This campaign follows the recent confirmation of a polio case involving a baby who was partially paralysed by the type 2 virus, marking the first instance in Gaza in 25 years.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that at least 90% of children need to receive two doses, spaced four weeks apart, for the campaign to be successful. However, the effort faces significant obstacles due to the extensive damage in Gaza caused by nearly 11 months of conflict.

On Saturday, more than 2,000 medical and community workers prepared for the campaign’s launch while separate Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip resulted in at least 19 deaths, including nine members of the same family, in Nuseirat, one of Gaza’s historic refugee camps. Over 30 additional fatalities were reported in various other strikes across Gaza.

Fighting between Israeli forces and militant groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, continued in northern Gaza’s Zeitoun neighbourhood and in Rafah near the Egyptian border. The Israeli military stated that its operations in central and southern Gaza included targeting militants and dismantling military infrastructure in Gaza City, as well as locating weapons and neutralising gunmen in Tel Al-Sultan in western Rafah.

In Khan Younis, families returned to their homes after the Israeli army concluded a 22-day offensive aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping. Reports indicated extensive destruction, with buildings and infrastructure in ruins. Medics recovered at least nine bodies from the area affected by the military operations.

The current violence follows an attack by Hamas fighters on Israel on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths and approximately 250 hostages, according to Israeli sources. In response, Israel’s assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has resulted in over 40,600 Palestinian deaths, according to local health authorities.

The entire Gaza population of 2.3 million has been displaced, and the enclave faces a severe hunger crisis. Israel is also facing genocide allegations at the International Court, which it denies.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces continued a military operation in Jenin, with drones and helicopters in the air and sporadic gunfire reported in the city.