Written By Lisa Murimi
Israel has agreed to a series of “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza to facilitate the vaccination of around 640,000 children against polio, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The vaccination campaign, set to begin on Sunday, will be conducted in three stages across the central, southern, and northern parts of Gaza.
During each stage, fighting will pause for three consecutive days between 06:00 and 15:00 local time.
This agreement follows the recent confirmation of Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years, which partially paralyzed a 10-month-old baby.
The WHO aims to achieve 90% vaccination coverage to halt the virus’s transmission within Gaza.
Over 2,000 health workers have been trained to administer the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), with additional doses soon to arrive.
While Hamas has expressed readiness to cooperate with the campaign, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that these pauses are “not a ceasefire.”
The initiative has received international support, with calls for the pauses to be long enough to ensure all vulnerable children are vaccinated.
