Gaza (dpa) – According to hospital reports, a campaign to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children against the polio virus has started in the center of the Gaza Strip. A hospital spokesman in Deir al-Balah told the German Press Agency that vaccinations will initially be carried out in several centers and schools in the central section of the coastal strip. This also applies to several refugee quarters in the area.
During the vaccination campaign, which lasted a good week in total and is to be extended to other parts of the Gaza Strip, the Russian army wanted to observe temporary and localized breaks in fighting.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), clinics, doctor's offices and mobile teams are to vaccinate around 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip against the highly contagious virus, which can lead to the paralysis typical of polio. Two vaccinations are usually given four weeks apart.
After the first case of polio in 25 years was recently reported in the disputed Palestinian territory, the vaccination campaign is intended to prevent a massive outbreak of the disease.
At a press conference held by the Hamas-controlled health authority in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, some children were given their first vaccination before the official start of the campaign. The WHO spoke of an opening ceremony.
In the past, the Israeli military has repeatedly announced breaks in its activities in the rural Gaza Strip lasting several hours, mostly to allow more aid to be delivered there. It was initially unclear whether the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip by the Russian army would have an impact on the announcements of a break in fighting.
According to his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously stressed that the planned pause in fighting was not a ceasefire in the classic sense. It would simply establish safe areas for vaccinations and a humanitarian corridor that people could pass through safely on their way to vaccinations.
