Children in Gaza's south receive polio shots as Israeli offensive continues

Crowds of Palestinians gathered at medical centres in southern Gaza for their children to be vaccinated against polio in the second stage of a campaign that has so far seen 187,000 youngsters inoculated.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Thursday that the campaign, taking place after Hamas and Israel agreed on limited pauses in their fighting, was so far successful but complex.

But the war continued elsewhere in the besieged enclave, with Gaza health authorities reporting several people killed in Israeli air strikes, including a hit on a hospital in central Gaza.

And despite the success of the polio campaign, diplomatic efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire in the war, the release of captives held in Gaza, and the return of Palestinians jailed by Israel have faltered.

On Thursday, vaccinations began in Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, both areas that have been battered by the war and that have hosted tens of thousands of people who have fled other parts.

One displaced Palestinian, Ikram Nasser, queuing with her son at a vaccination point, said the threat of polio had only increased people's fears.

"We live based on fear, from the bombing, from the terror, from the destruction, from the injuries. We add to that the fear of diseases that have spread, such as skin diseases, from the lack of cleanliness and the crowding," she said.

Pauses must be respected

UNRWA said in a statement the vaccination campaign had moved to southern areas with teams mostly in Khan Younis.

"At this critical time, area pauses must be respected to protect families and humanitarian workers," it said.

Recipients will include people who had been forced by the Israeli military to leave Rafah, near the border with Egypt, where Israeli forces have been operating since May.

Israeli refusal

Later on Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said Israel refused to allow medical teams to areas east of the Salahuddin road to vaccinate children living in the eastern communities of the southern cities. The Israeli military said it was checking the report.

Health officials aim to reach 640,000 Gaza children for vaccination against polio in the campaign, which was launched after the discovery of a case of a one-year-old baby who was partially paralysed.

This was the first known case of the disease in Gaza - one of the world's most densely populated places - in 25 years. It re-emerged as Gaza's health system has virtually collapsed and many hospitals have been knocked out of action due to the war.

"My message to the world is that just as you provided us with vaccination so that our children would be safe, you must provide us with a ceasefire and a stop to this war, as this war is a real catastrophe for us," said Gaza resident Osama Brika as he accompanied his nephew into the medical facility.

UNRWA said on Wednesday good progress was being made in rolling out the polio vaccine to children but a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month-old war was needed to ease humanitarian suffering.