The United Nations temporarily paused aid deliveries in Gaza on Monday over safety concerns after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders, a senior UN official said, possibly complicating the launch of a polio vaccination campaign.
Israel’s military on Sunday ordered more evacuations in parts of Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, forcing many displaced Palestinians to flee again as the UN prepares to vaccinate more than 640,000 children amid concerns about the spread of the disease in the enclave.
Earlier this month, health authorities confirmed Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years in an unvaccinated 10-month-old. It came just weeks after sewage samples taken in Gaza in late June tested positive for the virus, prompting a warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) that it was “just a matter of time” before it infects thousands of children.
The highly contagious disease, which mainly affects children under the age of 5, targets the nervous system and can cause paralysis and death in extreme cases.
On Monday, the Israeli agency responsible for approving aid into Gaza, COGAT, said more than 1.2 million doses of the vaccine had arrived in the strip through the Kerem Shalon crossing. It said the vaccination campaign, led by WHO and the UN children’s agency, would be conducted in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
According to the senior UN official, there will temporarily be no deliveries under the latest conditions.
Vaccination campaign
The resurgence of polio – eliminated in most of the developed world – underlines the struggles facing Gaza’s 2 million residents, who have lived under Israeli bombardment since October last year. Many people in the enclave are deprived of food, medical supplies and clean water, with up to 90% of the population internally displaced.
In separate statements Tuesday, the UN’s main relief agency in Gaza, UNRWA, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the occupied West Bank said they were still preparing for the launch of the vaccination campaign.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the vaccination campaign “will commence in a few days,” and efforts are being made to provide an additional 400,000 doses to vaccinate 95% of children under the age of 10.
“Great and continuous efforts are being made around the clock with international health partners to facilitate the task of health care workers in carrying out the vaccination campaign,” the ministry’s statement said, adding that Israeli military operations have posed significant danger to the movement of staff.
The official said UN operations are not leaving Gaza “because the people need us there,” but the UN will need to find a new location following the latest evacuation orders.
It had already moved its main operations to Deir al-Balah after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for Rafah, southern Gaza, in May, the senior official said.
“Where do we move now?” the official said.