“EXTREMELY DIFFICULT”
Israel also issued an evacuation order in north Gaza, the first in more than two weeks, that included areas that are part of humanitarian pause zones agreed upon for the polio vaccinations, according to a UN update on Monday.
“The centralisation of services in the south makes it extremely difficult for us to get fuel, to get access to vaccinations, and to all other logistics,” Mahmoud Shalabi of Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based charity, told Reuters via a spokesperson.
“There is still no fuel for the movement of vehicles for vaccination teams in the north.”
The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza began on Sep 1, following confirmation by the WHO last month that a baby had been partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
The campaign in north Gaza aims to conclude a first vaccination round, with a second set to commence after a month.
Israel began its military campaign in Gaza on Oct 7 last year after Hamas led a shock incursion into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The resulting assault on Gaza has killed more than 40,900 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and reduced much of the territory to rubble.
Source: CNA
