Health teams had been preparing for several days to administer a second dose of the vaccine to children under 10, but it was delayed by Israeli attacks, ground clashes and a lack of assurances of a ceasefire in the fighting for humanitarian reasons.
The campaign, which focuses on bringing more than 100,000 children in northern Gaza under vaccine protection, began on Saturday and will continue until Monday.
The United Nations Children’s Fund reported that this weekend, amid unprecedented security and operational challenges, more than 58,000 children were given a second dose of the vaccine on Saturday.
During this operation, a UNICEF employee’s personal car was reportedly shot while passing through Jabalia-Ilnajla on Saturday. The car was damaged in the incident but the UNICEF worker is safe.
Meanwhile, in another incident, at least three children were reported injured in another attack near a vaccination center in Sheikh Radwan. At that time, children were being given vaccination doses.
More than 50 children are feared dead in Jabaliya in the last 48 hours. The airstrikes destroyed two residential buildings where hundreds of people had taken shelter. A polio vaccination center in northern Gaza was also hit, injuring six people, including four children.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the attacks on Jabalia, the vaccination clinic and UNICEF workers are examples of the serious consequences of repeated attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip.
He called on Israel to immediately investigate these incidents and hold the perpetrators accountable.
“UNICEF urges Member States to use their influence to ensure respect for international law by prioritizing the protection of children.”
He said, the time to end this war has long passed.
Polio was eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, but there have been several health crises during the Gaza war, and the polio virus was found in a 10-month-old baby this year. This was followed by a rapid vaccine campaign in Israeli-occupied Gaza.
Both phases of vaccination have already been successfully completed in central and southern Gaza, where more than 4.5 million children have been vaccinated. This is 96 percent of the total target in these areas.
More than a year has passed since Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023 following terrorist attacks by Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel.