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Gaza’s health workers wrap up first phase of polio vaccination drive
Gaza’s health workers said they faced down attacks and threats from Israeli forces during the first phase of the polio vaccination campaign that ended on Friday.
“We went throughout the dangers and the threats to help the children and to get our blessings from Allah Almighty,” one female health worker told Al Jazeera in North Gaza. “My message to the world is to move quickly and save the rest of the Palestinian children. Enough is enough.”
UN agencies call for another round of humanitarian pauses for polio vaccination
WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA have called on the warring parties in Gaza to commit to another round of humanitarian pauses so that the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign can proceed.
The agencies, working with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, administered the first dose of the vaccine to some 558,963 children under the age of 10 in Gaza from September 1 to 12, and say the children need their second dose within four weeks.
“The progress made in this first round is encouraging, but the job is far from done,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF special representative in the State of Palestine. “We are poised to finish the task and call on all involved to ensure we can do so in the next round in four weeks’ time for the sake of children everywhere,” she added.
Former Israeli army official says Israel ‘stuck in Gaza and bleeding’
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the Israeli army’s former head of operations, Major General Israel Ziv, has criticised the continuing war and said that Israel is “stuck in Gaza and bleeding”, and describing it as a “dire quagmire”.
Ziv, who previously led the Gaza Division, asserted that the war has become a source of political stability for Netanyahu and his government. He suggested that Netanyahu might be prolonging the war to maintain his political position and delay his corruption trial, which could lead to imprisonment.
Ziv added that after a year of what he called the longest and most exhausting war in Israel’s history, the country finds itself trapped in a continuous security crisis with no end in sight.
He noted that the situation is not improving and lacks a clear path towards resolution. He emphasised that the war, which Netanyahu claimed was on the verge of victory six months ago, now appears endless.
