MONITORING (SW) – A polio vaccination center in Gaza and the car of a UN aid official involved in this weekend’s vaccination campaign came under fire despite a promised “humanitarian pause” in Israeli bombardment, the UN has said.
Catherine Russell, the executive director of the UN child support and protection agency, Unicef, said: “At least three children were reportedly injured by another attack in the proximity of a vaccination clinic in Sheikh Radwan while a polio vaccination campaign was under way.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied responsibility for the reported attack on Sheikh Radwan, which is in northern Gaza to the west of the Jabaliya camp, reported Guardian.
Approximately 15,000 children under 10 are estimated to be in the excluded area and therefore will not receive the inoculation, threatening the effectiveness of the vaccination campaign, which requires at least 90% of all children in every district to be vaccinated to be sure of stopping the spread of the polio virus.
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 31 people in the Gaza Strip in a day, Reuters quotes Palestinian medics as saying, with nearly half of the deaths in northern areas where the army has waged a month-long campaign.
Israel’s invasion of Gaza Strip, sparked by Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023 attack, has surpassed a year. At least 43,314 Palestinians and 1163 Israelis have been killed in this conflict so far.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Israeli attacks on neighbouring Lebanon has now climbed to 2,897 and the number of injured to 13,150 since October 2023, including 30 dead and 183 injured in the past 24 hours, the Lebanese health ministry said.
