Dubai Telegraph - Israel agrees 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza for polio vaccinations

EUR -
AED 3.859659
AFN 71.497817
ALL 98.328235
AMD 419.898548
ANG 1.895117
AOA 960.981091
ARS 1063.731053
AUD 1.622765
AWG 1.891482
AZN 1.788374
BAM 1.954374
BBD 2.106742
BDT 125.658288
BGN 1.95286
BHD 0.396115
BIF 3106.732552
BMD 1.050823
BND 1.413968
BOB 7.265628
BRL 6.382386
BSD 1.051523
BTN 89.03202
BWP 14.34553
BYN 3.43839
BYR 20596.13192
BZD 2.108241
CAD 1.476412
CDF 3015.861968
CHF 0.930262
CLF 0.037172
CLP 1025.665752
CNY 7.655458
CNH 7.674145
COP 4679.209991
CRC 533.505544
CUC 1.050823
CUP 27.846811
CVE 110.187725
CZK 25.187141
DJF 187.243341
DKK 7.45809
DOP 63.653542
DZD 140.592389
EGP 52.283157
ERN 15.762346
ETB 131.332098
FJD 2.385579
FKP 0.829433
GBP 0.830413
GEL 2.989606
GGP 0.829433
GHS 15.930222
GIP 0.829433
GMD 74.608307
GNF 9063.385092
GTQ 8.119074
GYD 219.889514
HKD 8.179066
HNL 26.625821
HRK 7.495793
HTG 137.849391
HUF 414.525482
IDR 16769.349593
ILS 3.807526
IMP 0.829433
INR 89.027464
IQD 1377.494636
IRR 44239.650802
ISK 145.686045
JEP 0.829433
JMD 164.87359
JOD 0.745138
JPY 156.629406
KES 136.080681
KGS 91.207285
KHR 4239.905506
KMF 493.30878
KPW 945.740353
KRW 1512.990766
KWD 0.322921
KYD 0.87626
KZT 550.108504
LAK 23074.939175
LBP 94161.580129
LKR 305.529917
LRD 188.222626
LSL 19.008308
LTL 3.102807
LVL 0.635632
LYD 5.131523
MAD 10.50853
MDL 19.242956
MGA 4941.346536
MKD 61.407719
MMK 3413.032299
MNT 3570.696692
MOP 8.430447
MRU 41.648999
MUR 49.125736
MVR 16.235294
MWK 1823.369215
MXN 21.386769
MYR 4.696718
MZN 67.141052
NAD 19.008127
NGN 1739.889673
NIO 38.692129
NOK 11.631193
NPR 142.451032
NZD 1.786862
OMR 0.404579
PAB 1.051523
PEN 3.938463
PGK 4.244942
PHP 61.561406
PKR 292.164144
PLN 4.294372
PYG 8193.020327
QAR 3.834048
RON 4.977115
RSD 116.945977
RUB 112.309414
RWF 1451.040958
SAR 3.947995
SBD 8.758227
SCR 14.323178
SDG 632.06918
SEK 11.57634
SGD 1.414497
SHP 0.829433
SLE 23.952485
SLL 22035.239074
SOS 600.961389
SRD 37.179694
STD 21749.91568
SVC 9.200766
SYP 2640.224307
SZL 19.014123
THB 36.175585
TJS 11.461326
TMT 3.688389
TND 3.313682
TOP 2.46113
TRY 36.512632
TTD 7.115739
TWD 34.283628
TZS 2768.919
UAH 43.904909
UGX 3869.13929
USD 1.050823
UYU 45.398162
UZS 13486.54188
VES 50.090007
VND 26696.159767
VUV 124.755825
WST 2.933468
XAF 655.478599
XAG 0.034135
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.839902
XDR 0.799816
XOF 655.478599
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.127139
ZAR 19.058105
ZMK 9458.660207
ZMW 28.416989
ZWL 338.364596
  • RBGPF

    -1.6900

    60.31

    -2.8%

  • CMSC

    0.0100

    24.58

    +0.04%

  • NGG

    -0.2000

    63.18

    -0.32%

  • RELX

    0.1050

    47.435

    +0.22%

  • SCS

    -0.2600

    13.46

    -1.93%

  • VOD

    -0.0050

    8.865

    -0.06%

  • GSK

    0.6900

    35

    +1.97%

  • RIO

    0.5600

    63.83

    +0.88%

  • BCE

    0.1300

    27.17

    +0.48%

  • JRI

    -0.0050

    13.495

    -0.04%

  • AZN

    1.4450

    68.485

    +2.11%

  • CMSD

    -0.0800

    24.31

    -0.33%

  • RYCEF

    0.2000

    7.44

    +2.69%

  • BCC

    -2.2200

    145.3

    -1.53%

  • BTI

    -0.4450

    37.285

    -1.19%

  • BP

    0.4200

    29.41

    +1.43%

Israel agrees 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza for polio vaccinations
Israel agrees 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza for polio vaccinations / Photo: Eyad BABA - AFP/File

Israel agrees 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza for polio vaccinations

Israel has agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" in Gaza to allow health officials to administer polio vaccinations to children in the territory, the World Health Organization said Thursday.

Text size:

"The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three days, and there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccination," said Rik Peeperkorn, the agency's representative for Palestinian territories.

The vaccination rollout will also cover southern and northern Gaza, which will each get their own three-day pauses, Peeperkorn told reporters, adding that Israel had agreed to allow an additional day if required.

The vaccination campaign aims to cover more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.

"We stress the critical importance for all parties to adhere to the commitments that have been made," Michael Ryan, WHO deputy director-general, told the UN Security Council.

"At least 90 percent of coverage is needed during each round of the campaign in order to stop the outbreak and prevent international spread of polio," he added.

He said that 1.26 million doses of the NoPV2 vaccine had been delivered in Gaza, with another 400,000 still to arrive.

The vaccine is administered orally in two drops. Health workers will need to return in four weeks' time to give two more drops to each child to complete the vaccination, although so far there has been no public discussion of arranging another pause in the fighting.

Oren Marmorstein, Israel's foreign affairs spokesman, said on X that his government has "has coordinated a large-scale operation with WHO and UNICEF to vaccinate children in the Gaza Strip against polio."

Hamas said it supports the "UN humanitarian truce."

Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said it is "vital that this campaign be implemented without delay."

He called on Israel to "facilitate access for agencies carrying out the vaccination campaign, and for it to ensure periods of calm and refrain from military operations during vaccination campaign periods."

The United States and European Union have voiced concern over polio in Gaza, after the first case there in 25 years was confirmed this month in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby.

Poliovirus is highly infectious and most often spread through sewage and contaminated water -- an increasingly common problem in Gaza with much of the territory's infrastructure destroyed by Israel in its war against Hamas.

The disease mainly affects children under the age of five. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal.

K.Javed--DT