Continued Hostilities in Gaza Threaten the Second Round of Polio Vaccinations

The impact of an airstrike in Gaza that has reduced the Prep Boys A School in Khan Yunis to rubble. Credit: UNICEF/ FPF Geneva

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 8 2024 (IPS)

Over the past two months, the polio epidemic in Gaza has slowly mitigated due to response efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN). The first round of the polio vaccination campaign has been largely successful, with around 506,000 children having been immunized. If the Israel authorities allow for further humanitarian pauses, the second round is expected to begin on October 14. However, health officials are concerned that this will be more difficult than expected due to the continuance of deadly attacks in the past few weeks.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that three school-turned-shelters in Gaza were hit last Wednesday and Thursday, resulting in over 20 civilian casualties.

One year has passed since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel, which killed over 1250 civilians and saw the abduction of 250 people. Israel’s retaliation against Hamas has led to an ongoing war in the Gaza Strip which has threatened the health and humanitarian systems’ capacity to support Palestinian civilians.

This year, Israeli forces launched two airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, targeting a mosque and a school-turned-shelter. These targets were described by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) as “command and control centers” for Hamas militants, however, no evidence of this was provided. According to Gaza’s health ministry, over 26 civilians were killed in these attacks.

On October 6, a platoon of warplanes commissioned by the IDF struck the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 19 people. The Palestinian Civil Defense Agency added that the death toll includes 9 children. Israel had also issued an armed ground operation to encircle the refugee camp, stating that the area was being used as “weapons storage facilities, underground infrastructure sites, terrorist cells, and additional military infrastructure sites”.

Hours later, the IDF ordered that all residents of Northern Gaza are to flee south as the entire northern section of the enclave is now being considered as an evacuation zone and is susceptible to bombardment. Leaflets were dropped on this area, stating that this order precedes “a new phase of the war”. “People left their homes this morning, and they don’t know where to go, carrying some simple belongings. There are no means of transportation”, said Abu Alaa Asaf, a resident of Beit Lahiya, a city in Northern Gaza.

Another evacuation order was issued for Southern Gaza over the weekend, stating that residents should evacuate to designated shelters in al-Mawasi, which has been considered a “safe zone” for the duration of the conflict. On Saturday, Israeli authorities announced that the safe zone would be expanded, with evacuation routes from the Salah al-Din Road and the Al-Rashid coastal road being opened up for use by Northern Gazans. According to the IDF, this expansion includes “field hospitals that have been established since the outbreak of the war, tent compounds, and supplies of food, water, medicine, and medical equipment.”

Many civilians from northern Gaza expressed reluctance to move in the wake of the new evacuation orders. Much of these sentiments come from displaced residents in the Jabalia camp, which has been targeted several times in the past year. Mohammed Ibrahim, a resident of Jabalia, told reporters, “I, along with my two sons, have stayed in Jabalia and will not go anywhere. There is no safe place in Gaza, and death is the same here or there”.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reiterated its concern for the affected children amidst the escalation of hostilities. The Al-Baraka displacement shelter in al-Mawasi currently houses over 400 families and has been described as an “orphanage city”. “The number of children served here is just a drop in the sea of orphaned children in Gaza who are in need of protection. The number of unprotected orphans in Gaza now ranges between 17,000 and 18,000, many of whom are unaccompanied by any family members”, stated UNICEF.

In response to recent attacks on Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron order a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. In the radio show France Inter, Macron said: “The priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza”. He added that the sustained hostilities in Gaza as well as the escalating situation in Lebanon were of great concern. However, despite the arms embargo, Macron reiterated France’s support for Israel and its security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Macron’s order a “disgrace”, remarking that any nations that do not stand with Israel are supporting Iran and its allies. U.S. President Joe Biden has also expressed his frustration with Netanyahu, stating that Israel was “not doing enough” to strike a hostage deal and ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu denied reports of a pending ceasefire agreement shortly after U.S. officials stated that the agreements were 90 percent complete. “Hamas is not there with a deal. There’s not a deal in the making, unfortunately”, said Netanyahu.

WHO fears that the uncertainty of the ceasefire agreement puts thousands of Palestinians in danger of succumbing to the polio epidemic. The upcoming second round of the vaccination campaign will prove to be crucial, as approximately 90 percent immunity is required to prevent re-emergence of the virus in Gaza. WHO, the UN, and the Palestinian Health Ministry are currently in the process of negotiating further humanitarian pauses with the IDF. If granted, the second round of vaccination efforts are projected to end by October 29.

IPS UN Bureau Report