Gaza’s Health Ministry announced on Sunday that it has received 1.26 million doses of the polio vaccine.
The ministry stated, “A total of 1.26 million doses of the OPV2 polio vaccine have arrived, along with 500 vaccine coolers.”
Preparations are currently underway to launch the vaccination campaign in collaboration with partners, though no further details were provided.
On August 16, the ministry reported the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip in 25 years, involving a 10-month-old baby in the city of Deir al-Balah who had not been vaccinated against the disease.
Polio primarily affects children under the age of five, with one in 200 infections resulting in irreversible paralysis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 5% to 10% of those paralyzed die due to respiratory muscle failure.
Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its military offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7. The conflict has resulted in over 40,400 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 93,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has caused severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region devastated.
Israel faces genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had taken refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.
