Israel, Hamas agree to limited pauses in Gaza fighting to allow for polio vaccinations
Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization's senior official for the Palestinian territories, said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to limited pauses in the fighting in Gaza to allow vaccinations against polio. Hamas said it is “ready to cooperate with international organisations to secure the campaign", according to a statement from Hamas’s political bureau. The urgent campaign comes after a 10-month-old Palestinian boy was partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus, having missed the chance to be vaccinated because he was born just before the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants and Israel's ensuing offensive.
Issued on: 29/08/2024 -
Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization's senior official for the Palestinian territories, said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to limited pauses in the fighting in Gaza to allow vaccinations against polio. Hamas said it is “ready to cooperate with international organisations to secure the campaign", according to a statement from Hamas’s political bureau. The urgent campaign comes after a 10-month-old Palestinian boy was partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus, having missed the chance to be vaccinated because he was born just before the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants and Israel's ensuing offensive.
Issued on: 29/08/2024 -
00:35
Palestinian children play outside a medical tent in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, July 11, 2024. © Ramadan Abed, Reuters
By: NEWS WIRES|
Video by:FRANCE 24
The U.N. World Health Organization said Thursday it has reached an agreement with Israel for limited pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for polio vaccinations for hundreds of thousands of children after a baby contracted the first confirmed case in 25 years in the Palestinian territory.
Described as “humanitarian pauses” that will last three days in different areas of the war-ravaged territory, the vaccination campaign will start Sunday in central Gaza, said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories.
That will be followed by another three-day pause in southern Gaza and then another in northern Gaza, he said, noting that the pauses will last eight or nine hours each day. He thinks that health workers — more than 2,000 — will take part among U.N. agencies and Gaza’s Health Ministry might need additional days to complete the vaccinations.
Peeperkorn told reporters via video conference that they aim to vaccinate 640,000 children under 10 and that the campaign has been coordinated with Israeli authorities.
“We need this humanitarian pause,” he said. “And that has been very clear. We have an agreement on that, so we expect that all parties will stick to that.”
These humanitarian pauses are not a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that mediators U.S., Egypt and Qatar have long been seeking, including in talks that are ongoing this week.
Hamas is “ready to cooperate with international organizations to secure this campaign,” according to a statement from Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau.
An Israeli official said before the plan was announced that there was expected to be some sort of tactical pause to allow vaccinations to take place. The official had spoken on condition of anonymity before the plan was finalized.
Israel didn’t immediately comment Thursday on the vaccination campaign. The Israeli army has previously announced limited pauses in limited areas to allow international humanitarian operations.
WHO said health workers need to vaccinate at least 90% of children in Gaza to stop the transmission of polio.
“I’m not going to say this is the ideal way forward. But this is a workable way forward,” Peeperkorn said of the humanitarian pauses. Later he added, “It will happen and should happen because we have an agreement.”
The campaign comes after 10-month-old Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian was partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus that vaccinated people shed in their waste. The baby boy was not vaccinated because he was born just before Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza.
He is one of hundreds of thousands of children who missed vaccinations because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
(AP)
The U.N. World Health Organization said Thursday it has reached an agreement with Israel for limited pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for polio vaccinations for hundreds of thousands of children after a baby contracted the first confirmed case in 25 years in the Palestinian territory.
Described as “humanitarian pauses” that will last three days in different areas of the war-ravaged territory, the vaccination campaign will start Sunday in central Gaza, said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories.
That will be followed by another three-day pause in southern Gaza and then another in northern Gaza, he said, noting that the pauses will last eight or nine hours each day. He thinks that health workers — more than 2,000 — will take part among U.N. agencies and Gaza’s Health Ministry might need additional days to complete the vaccinations.
Peeperkorn told reporters via video conference that they aim to vaccinate 640,000 children under 10 and that the campaign has been coordinated with Israeli authorities.
“We need this humanitarian pause,” he said. “And that has been very clear. We have an agreement on that, so we expect that all parties will stick to that.”
These humanitarian pauses are not a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that mediators U.S., Egypt and Qatar have long been seeking, including in talks that are ongoing this week.
Hamas is “ready to cooperate with international organizations to secure this campaign,” according to a statement from Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau.
An Israeli official said before the plan was announced that there was expected to be some sort of tactical pause to allow vaccinations to take place. The official had spoken on condition of anonymity before the plan was finalized.
Israel didn’t immediately comment Thursday on the vaccination campaign. The Israeli army has previously announced limited pauses in limited areas to allow international humanitarian operations.
WHO said health workers need to vaccinate at least 90% of children in Gaza to stop the transmission of polio.
“I’m not going to say this is the ideal way forward. But this is a workable way forward,” Peeperkorn said of the humanitarian pauses. Later he added, “It will happen and should happen because we have an agreement.”
The campaign comes after 10-month-old Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian was partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus that vaccinated people shed in their waste. The baby boy was not vaccinated because he was born just before Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza.
He is one of hundreds of thousands of children who missed vaccinations because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
(AP)
Israel agrees 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza for polio vaccinations
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Israel has agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" in Gaza to allow health officials to administer polio vaccinations to children in the territory, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
Issued on: 29/08/2024
United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Israel has agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" in Gaza to allow health officials to administer polio vaccinations to children in the territory, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
Issued on: 29/08/2024
More than 640,000 children under the age of 10 are to be vaccinated in Gaza, according to the World Health Organization
© Eyad BABA / AFP/File
"The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three days, and there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccination," said Rik Peeperkorn, the agency's representative for Palestinian territories.
The vaccination rollout will also cover southern and northern Gaza, which will each get their own three-day pauses, Peeperkorn told reporters, adding that Israel had agreed to allow an additional day if required.
The vaccination campaign aims to cover more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.
"We stress the critical importance for all parties to adhere to the commitments that have been made," Michael Ryan, WHO deputy director-general, told the UN Security Council.
"At least 90 percent of coverage is needed during each round of the campaign in order to stop the outbreak and prevent international spread of polio," he added.
He said that 1.26 million doses of the NoPV2 vaccine had been delivered in Gaza, with another 400,000 still to arrive.
The vaccine is administered orally in two drops. Health workers will need to return in four weeks' time to give two more drops to each child to complete the vaccination, although so far there has been no public discussion of arranging another pause in the fighting.
Oren Marmorstein, Israel's foreign affairs spokesman, said on X that his government has "has coordinated a large-scale operation with WHO and UNICEF to vaccinate children in the Gaza Strip against polio."
Hamas said it supports the "UN humanitarian truce."
Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said it is "vital that this campaign be implemented without delay."
He called on Israel to "facilitate access for agencies carrying out the vaccination campaign, and for it to ensure periods of calm and refrain from military operations during vaccination campaign periods."
The United States and European Union have voiced concern over polio in Gaza, after the first case there in 25 years was confirmed this month in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby.
Poliovirus is highly infectious and most often spread through sewage and contaminated water -- an increasingly common problem in Gaza with much of the territory's infrastructure destroyed by Israel in its war against Hamas.
The disease mainly affects children under the age of five. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal.
© 2024 AFP
"The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three days, and there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccination," said Rik Peeperkorn, the agency's representative for Palestinian territories.
The vaccination rollout will also cover southern and northern Gaza, which will each get their own three-day pauses, Peeperkorn told reporters, adding that Israel had agreed to allow an additional day if required.
The vaccination campaign aims to cover more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.
"We stress the critical importance for all parties to adhere to the commitments that have been made," Michael Ryan, WHO deputy director-general, told the UN Security Council.
"At least 90 percent of coverage is needed during each round of the campaign in order to stop the outbreak and prevent international spread of polio," he added.
He said that 1.26 million doses of the NoPV2 vaccine had been delivered in Gaza, with another 400,000 still to arrive.
The vaccine is administered orally in two drops. Health workers will need to return in four weeks' time to give two more drops to each child to complete the vaccination, although so far there has been no public discussion of arranging another pause in the fighting.
Oren Marmorstein, Israel's foreign affairs spokesman, said on X that his government has "has coordinated a large-scale operation with WHO and UNICEF to vaccinate children in the Gaza Strip against polio."
Hamas said it supports the "UN humanitarian truce."
Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said it is "vital that this campaign be implemented without delay."
He called on Israel to "facilitate access for agencies carrying out the vaccination campaign, and for it to ensure periods of calm and refrain from military operations during vaccination campaign periods."
The United States and European Union have voiced concern over polio in Gaza, after the first case there in 25 years was confirmed this month in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby.
Poliovirus is highly infectious and most often spread through sewage and contaminated water -- an increasingly common problem in Gaza with much of the territory's infrastructure destroyed by Israel in its war against Hamas.
The disease mainly affects children under the age of five. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal.
© 2024 AFP
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