Gaza's Final Push: Polio Vaccination Amid Conflict

A final campaign to vaccinate 200,000 children in north Gaza against polio has begun, despite numerous challenges such as access restrictions and fuel shortages. The initiative follows the vaccination of 446,000 children in central and south Gaza earlier this month. Health officials are struggling to reach the isolated and militarily active areas.

A campaign to vaccinate a final 200,000 children in north Gaza against polio began on Tuesday, although health and aid officials said the operation was complicated by access restrictions, evacuation orders, and fuel shortages.

The campaign in north Gaza, the territory hardest hit by Israel's 11-month military offensive against Hamas militants, follows the vaccination of more than 446,000 Palestinian children in central and south Gaza earlier this month. Medical staff had started administering vaccines in the north despite a dire need for fuel and other challenges, according to Dr. Moussa Abed of Gaza's health ministry.

"Vaccination centers are in areas that are militarily very active, difficult to reach, and isolated if things go wrong," said Sam Rose, a deputy director of UNRWA. "There are some nerves, but we'll have to make it work," he told Reuters via text message.

On Monday, Israel stopped a convoy carrying vehicles and fuel for the vaccination campaign, as well as a WHO team trying to reach Gaza's Al Shifa hospital, forcing the mission to be aborted, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said. The centralization of services in the south has made it extremely difficult to get fuel and access to vaccinations, according to Mahmoud Shalabi of Medical Aid for Palestinians.

The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza began on Sept. 1, following confirmation of a type 2 polio virus case last month, the first in 25 years. Despite heavy casualties and destruction due to Israel's ongoing military operations, the first vaccination round aims to conclude, with a second set to commence in a month.

(With inputs from agencies.)