UN Reports End of Gaza's First Polio Vaccination Round, Over 560,000 Children Immunized
United Nations: According to UN humanitarian officials, the United Nations and its partners have administered polio vaccines to over 560,000 children under the age of 10 in the Gaza Strip.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced on Friday that the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the completion of the first phase of the emergency vaccination campaign in northern, central, and southern Gaza on Thursday.
OCHA also reported that, during the final stage of the initial phase in northern Gaza, over 112,000 children were vaccinated over a period of three days, as reported by Xinhua news agency.
The office said its partners are set to begin the second round of the vaccination campaign in about four weeks.
The humanitarians said a new analysis by the WHO found 22,500 people injured in Gaza as of July 23 are estimated to have life-changing injuries that will require rehabilitation services now and for years to come. The injuries represent a quarter of the overall injuries the Ministry of Health reported in that period.
OCHA said the report comes amid the decimation of the health system in Gaza, with just 17 of 36 hospitals partially functional, while primary health care and community-level services are often suspended or made inaccessible due to attacks, insecurity and repeated evacuation orders.
The office said it has mobilised humanitarian partners to assess the needs of people affected by the latest two-day operation by Israeli forces in Tulkarm and Tubas in the West Bank. That operation concluded on Thursday, with nearly a dozen Palestinians reportedly killed.
OCHA said dozens of families were displaced when their homes were damaged on Wednesday and Thursday during the operation, which involved Israeli air and ground troops, with exchanges of fire between Palestinians and Israeli forces.
"The use of lethal war-like tactics in these areas of the West Bank has raised concerns over excessive use of force, which appears to exceed law enforcement standards," OCHA said.