Context

• Polio is highly contagious and transmits mainly through contact with contaminated feces, water or food. It can cause difficulty breathing and irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs. It strikes young children in particular and is sometimes fatal.

• Health crisis: Diseases like polio, hepatitis A, meningitis, and impetigo are spreading due to poor hygiene and destroyed infrastructure, with hospitals overwhelmed and many deaths reported, especially among children.

• Lack of hygiene supplies: Basic supplies like soap are unavailable for months, contributing to widespread illness. Humanitarian organizations struggle to provide essentials due to movement restrictions and limited aid deliveries.

Chronology

• June 19: Gaza’s Ministry of Health said it had detected “component poliovirus type 2” in coordination with UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency

• June 21: The Israeli army begins to vaccinate against polio all soldiers operating in Gaza or due to enter there soon, after a high concentration of the virus was found in sewage in Gaza. source

• End of July: The World Health Organization is “extremely worried” about the possibility of an outbreak of the highly infectious polio virus in Gaza after traces were found in wastewater.

• Immunisation rates in Gaza and the occupied West Bank were optimal before the conflict. Polio vaccine coverage was estimated at 99% in 2022, although it had declined to 89% last year, according to the latest data.

• the “decimation” of Gaza health system"- with only 16 out of the territory's 36 hospitals partially functional - as well as the "lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water and weakened sanitation" have contributed to reduce immunisation rates and increase the risk of diseases spreading.

• First case at the end of July: According to the WHO, a 10-month-old baby had been paralysed by the type-2 strand of the virus - the first case in Gaza in 25 years.

• Augustus 29 : Israel and Hamas have agreed to brief ceasefires in parts of Gaza to allow the safe distribution of the polio vaccine, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These pauses will begin Sunday and occur in three phases: central Gaza first, then the south, and finally the north. Each pause will last three days, from 6am to 3pm, and may extend to a fourth day if necessary.

Vaccination Campaign planning:

The WHO and partners are launching a campaign to vaccinate 640,000 children in Gaza against polio, despite the ongoing war and damaged healthcare system.

• Timeline by Phased Approach: A three-day campaign will start Sunday in central Gaza during a "humanitarian pause" from 6am to 3pm, with potential extensions. It will later move to southern and northern Gaza during similar pauses. Campaign Duration and Goals: The campaign will last three days in each zone, with a potential fourth day if needed. The goal is to vaccinate over 640,000 children under 10 across Gaza in two rounds, with the second dose administered in four weeks.

• Vaccination Sites: Around 160 sites, including medical centers, hospitals, and schools, are designated for vaccinations, mainly in Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah.

• Challenges: Significant obstacles include damaged infrastructure—65% of roads are affected and 19 of 36 hospitals are out of service. Security concerns have also halted aid group movements.The campaign is described as a "massive effort" involving thousands of workers, with significant planning and preparation. Health Worker Involvement: Over 2,180 health and community outreach workers are involved, working through 392 fixed points and almost 300 mobile teams.

• September 8 Director of field hospitals in Gaza Strip, Dr. Marwan Al-Hamas: The Ministry of Health decides to extend the polio vaccination campaign for an additional day in order to reach the largest number of children under the age of ten. source

Progress of Emergency Polio Vaccination Campaign:

Phase I:

• The campaign began on 1 September in central Gaza, reaching nearly 87,000 children on the first day.

• Humanitarian Pauses: Area-specific pauses in fighting have allowed the vaccination efforts to proceed. These pauses are critical for ensuring safe access to health facilities for children and outreach workers. It was already broken in several places. Some incidents happens in Central Gaza Strip during the first days of the campaign.

source

• Following the completion of the first phase of the polio vaccination campaign yesterday, conducted in areas with temporary ceasefire pauses, Palestinians are questioning when the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip will end. "Right now, you are vaccinating our children against polio, a simple virus. But every day they are killing them. In just a few hours, the truce will end, and the shelling and killing of children will resume" Huda Al-Sheikh: A mother from Gaza from Telegram: QudsNEN

Phase II :

"There is difficulty in transporting the vaccine because there is no fuel." A medical worker speaks to Quds Feed about the process of vaccinating children in the southern Gaza Strip" Source

Phase III :

Islam Bader is reporting here that the campaign was supposed to start on Monday in North Gaza but people have been informed that it'll be delayed until Tuesday because the vaccines have not entered yet (thanks IDF) and that medical delegations are being completely blocked from entering. starting 4:03 in the following

Source

Falafel stall massacre : ▪ On September 10, in the Morning, the Israeli army bombed a popular food “basta” in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, killing 6 and injured several Palestinians, in the east of Gaza City is only a few dozen or hundreds of meters from the “Asaad Al-Saftawi”, “Jaffa” and “Al-Tuffah” schools, which have been identified as safe vaccination centers in the Al-Tuffah and Al-Daraj neighborhoods. Following Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, by this attack, “Israel seriously undermines polio vaccination campaign in Gaza".

Incident at the North Gaza border

• On September 9 at 8:00 PM, the Israeli army stopped a UN and WHO convoy in northern Gaza, loaded with medicine and fuel, as it entered the Gaza Strip to interrogate Palestinian "suspects." Source

• Rumours are spreading simultaneously on X on all Zionist accounts, alleging that the Israeli army stopped a UN car participating in the anti-polio campaign because an activist/terrorist was among them.

• UN statement around 9:00 PM: "We are aware of an incident involving UN personnel and vehicles in northern Gaza, and the priority is the safety of our personnel."** Source

• UNRWA statement (Philippe Lazzarini) around "The Israeli Army stopped a UN convoy on its way to northern #Gaza for more than eight hours today (Monday) despite prior detailed coordination. The convoy had both national & international staff traveling to roll out the #polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza city and northern Gaza. The convoy was stopped at gun point just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff. Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armoured vehicles. All staff & convoy are now released & back safely in the UN base. We are not able to confirm whether the polio campaign will take place tomorrow, (Tuesday) in northern Gaza. This significant incident is the latest in a series of violations against UN staff including shootings at convoys & arrests by the Israeli Armed Forces at checkpoints despite prior notification. UN Staff must be allowed to undertake their duties in safety + be protected at all times in accordance with international humanitarian law. Gaza is no different." Source

• Dr. Munir Al-Barash, Director General of the Ministry of Health: The occupation is obstructing the entry of the convoy of medicines and polio vaccinations, which leads to the failure to start the vaccination campaign in northern Gaza. Source

▪️ Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor : The occupation army’s arrest of a UN mission yesterday and interrogation of its members as they moved from the southern Gaza Strip to the north clearly demonstrates its intention to disrupt humanitarian and relief efforts.

Cynical context of this humanitarian campaign

• Gazans feel like they are part of a "dark game," constantly moving to avoid bombings while still facing risks.

• Pauses for polio vaccination are set in specific areas, with both stationary and mobile points available for people to get the vaccine, but accessing them is very difficult.

• There is skepticism among medical staff about the success of the vaccination campaign, with some believing Israel is using it as a smokescreen to claim it allows humanitarian aid, while larger issues remain unaddressed.

• Humanitarian aid is barely reaching Gaza, with significantly diminished levels of assistance and a growing number of people in need. Aid organizations face numerous obstacles, such as not being allowed to move essential supplies (e.g., vegetables, hygiene kits) between different parts of Gaza despite severe shortages. Conditions in Gaza are described as inhumane, with people barely surviving.

"Now, in the north of Gaza, there is no vegetables on the commercial market, but, ironically, hygiene kits are getting in to the north. What we are not permitted to do is move vegetables from the south to the north, where they’re needed, or hygiene kits from the north to the south. And this is just one sort of example of the various different hurdles and obstacles that are deliberately being placed (by Israel) in our way." Arwa Damon, an American journalist and humanitarian who covered the Middle East and other regions.

Source

• More than 400 Palestinians were killed and at least 900 were wounded during the 12 days of the vaccination campaign, according to figures by Palestinian health authorities.

End of the first round of vaccination (initial dose of the oral vaccine)

• Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s chief, says the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza reached 90 percent coverage.* “Our next challenge is to provide children with their second dose at the end of September”* Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a post on X, renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire in the enclave.

Source