The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has called for a humanitarian pause in fighting in the Israel-Hamas conflict, as the second round of a polio vaccination campaign got underway in the Gaza Strip on Monday.
The World Health Organization announced that health workers began on Monday administering a second dose of the polio vaccine to some 590,000 children aged below 10. Officials said the second phase, which is scheduled to last until October 25, would first take place in central Gaza and move to the south and then to the north.
Despite an agreement between Israel’s military and Hamas to stop fighting during vaccination hours, an Israeli airstrike hit a school in Nuseirat on Sunday, where a vaccination session was to be held the following day.
The airstrike killed 22 people, including children, and injured 80 others. The vaccination session was cancelled.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said, “To reach as many children as possible with this critical vaccine, all parties must respect area humanitarian pauses.”
The number of casualties has been rising since the start of fighting in Gaza more than one year ago.
Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera reported that 10 people were killed on Monday in Israeli airstrikes on a food distribution center in Jabalia, northern Gaza, where Israel’s military has resumed a ground offensive. The casualties reportedly included children.