UNICEF chief says more than 50 children killed in 48 hours in Jabalia, staffer attacked
UNICEF’s executive director, Catherine Russell, has released a statement condemning a “deadly weekend of attacks in North Gaza”, saying more than 50 children have been killed in the Jabalia area over “the past 48 hours alone”.
Russell added that she had also received reports that a UNICEF staffer working on the polio vaccination campaign was attacked on Saturday by a suspected Israeli quadcopter in Jabalia.
“This morning, the personal vehicle of a UNICEF staff member working on the polio vaccination campaign came under fire by what we believe to be a quadcopter while driving through Jabalia – Elnazla. The car was damaged. Fortunately, the staff member was not injured. But she has been left deeply shaken,” she said.
“The attacks on Jabalia, the vaccination clinic and the UNICEF staff member are yet further examples of the grave consequences of the indiscriminate strikes on civilians in the Gaza strip,” Russell added.
Palestinian children are vaccinated against polio during the second round of a vaccination campaign in Gaza City on November 2
Russell said the Israeli attacks that killed more than 50 children in Jabalia, along with the assault on the polio vaccination clinic and the agency’s staffer “combine to write yet another dark chapter in one of the darkest periods of this terrible war”.
“Attacks on civilians, including humanitarian workers, and what remains of Gaza’s civilian facilities and infrastructure must stop. The entire Palestinian population in North Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and the ongoing bombardments,” she said.
Russell demanded that Israel conduct an investigation into the attack on her staffer and also urged UN’s member staff to use their influence to ensure respect for international law in Gaza.
“It is beyond time to end this war,” she said.
Israel’s siege is compromising Gaza’s polio campaign, official says
As we’ve been reporting, UN agencies have resumed the final phase of a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza City in the enclave’s north. But more than 15,000 children in the towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoon will not receive their doses because of Israel’s ongoing siege there.
“This of course impacts the quality of the vaccination and its effectiveness,” said Jamil Ali, the head of the Daraj first aid clinic in Gaza City. “If initially 90 percent to 95 percent were targeted, we are currently talking about less than 70 percent of a target,” he said.
UN officials say at least 90 percent of all children must be vaccinated to interrupt the transmission of poliovirus, which can cause paralysis and even death.
Polio had been eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, but Israel’s war – which disrupted routine vaccination campaigns and destroyed the enclave’s healthcare and sanitation systems – caused the disease to re-emerge. A 10-month-old Palestinian baby was partly paralysed as a result of the virus earlier this year.
Health Ministry appeals to international community to send medical teams to northern Gaza
The Health Ministry in Gaza has appealed to international organisations to send medical and surgical delegations to hospitals in northern Gaza.
The ministry said in a statement that Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north is especially in need of help due to the “continued fierce attack by [Israeli] forces”. It also appealed to international organisations to provide ambulances to transport the wounded and sick to hospitals.
Last week, Israeli forces withdrew from Kamal Adwan Hospital after detaining dozens of medics and some patients and causing widespread damage to one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza.
The UN special rapporteur on health has used a new term, “medicide”, to describe the widespread and systematic attacks by Israel on healthcare workers and facilities.
