The Gaza Health Ministry reported Saturday that Israeli strikes have killed 89 Palestinians over the past two days in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The attacks occurred amidst clashes in central and southern areas of the enclave, ahead of the planned start of a polio vaccination campaign.
The Ministry provided details about the strikes, stating that Israeli forces carried out five massacres against families in the Gaza Strip during the last 48 hours, resulting in 89 deaths and 205 injuries. Several victims remain uncounted, stranded on roads inaccessible to ambulance and civil defense teams. The total casualties from Israeli aggression since October 7 have risen to 40,691 deaths and 94,060 injuries.
These strikes occurred despite the UN World Health Organization (WHO) announcing on Thursday that Israel had agreed to at least three days of area-specific “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza. These pauses were intended to allow UN health officials to administer polio vaccinations in the territory after a case of polio was discovered in the enclave.
Under international humanitarian law (Rule 55), parties to the conflict must allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for citizens in need. The Fourth Geneva Convention also imposes an obligation on the occupying power to ensure food and medical supplies for the population to occupied territories.
On Sunday, the UN-led polio vaccination campaign kicked off in central Gaza, aiming to prevent an outbreak by vaccinating 90 percent of all children under 10 in the region. This follows the confirmation last week that type 2 poliovirus partially paralyzed a baby, the first such case in the territory in 25 years. The operation– organized by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Palestinian Ministry of Health–will continue in the coming days, provided the temporary pause in fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces holds.
The WHO, working with other UN agencies and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, plans to vaccinate over 640,000 children. To achieve that, UNRWA teams will begin administering oral vaccines in health centers, mobile clinics, shelters, and tent-to-tent in the coming days.
UN bodies involved in the campaign and senior officials have emphasized the importance of maintaining security for health workers and the Gazan population. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, wrote on social media, “For this to work, parties to the conflict must respect the temporary area pauses. For the sake of children across the region, a lasting ceasefire is overdue.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added, “Ultimately, the best vaccine for these children is peace.”
Yousef Abu Al-Reesh, Gaza’s deputy minister of health, told reporters at Nasser Hospital that vaccination teams would try to reach as many areas as possible to ensure wide coverage. However, he stressed that if the international community truly wants the campaign to succeed, it should call for a ceasefire, noting that the poliovirus does not stop and can reach anywhere.
