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Gazans rush to vaccinate children as new polio drive launches

Gazans rush to vaccinate children as new polio drive launches
People queue with their children for polio vaccinations at a make-shift camp for those displaced by conflict in a school run by the UNRWA in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sept. 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 06 September 2024

Gazans rush to vaccinate children as new polio drive launches

Gazans rush to vaccinate children as new polio drive launches
  • Gaza’s health ministry reported the first case of polio in 25 years last month
  • Parents bring babies, infants and teenagers for vaccines provided by UN agencies

KHAN YUNIS, Palestinian Territories: Children in Khan Yunis tilted their heads back, mouths open, as they received oral drops during the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, which began on Thursday.
“I have been vaccinated,” five children said proudly one by one, their inked fingers proof of their inoculation against polio.
Gaza’s health ministry reported the first case of polio in 25 years last month, amid the devastating Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian territory.
At tent camps for the displaced, schools-turned-shelters and health centers, parents brought babies, infants and teenagers for vaccines provided by UN agencies.
“I live in a tent next to a sewage pond with significant disease and epidemic issues, and mosquitoes and worms have affected us,” said Amani Ashur, 37, who brought his one-year-old son Abdul Rahman to be vaccinated.
Like most Gazans, Ashur has been displaced at least once, finding shelter in the Al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Yunis. His child, like many others, has fallen ill from diseases spreading through the makeshift shelters.
Gazans said they feared the spread of diseases due to the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in the camps and shelters.
“I was worried about my child, so I brought him to be vaccinated,” said Safaa Al-Balbisi, 34, about her two-year-old son Yahya.
“The war, lack of cleanliness, and living in tents and streets, along with the widespread sewage issues, have all contributed to the spread of diseases.”
Raafat Tuman, 46, brought his two-year-old son Adam to Khan Yunis’s Nasser hospital after learning of the campaign on social media.
“I decided to vaccinate my child to protect him from (polio) and other illnesses,” he said.
Hundreds of families gathered at a school-turned-shelter, waiting for the vaccines to arrive.
Thursday marked the fifth day of polio vaccinations in Gaza and the first in the south of the coastal territory.
UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) spokeswoman Louise Wateridge said the aim was to vaccinate 200,000 children against the disease during this phase.
So far, the vaccination drive was going as planned, said Majdi Dahir, Gaza health ministry technical director for the polio campaign.
“The campaign in the Central governorate proved to be highly successful, exceeding the target, which is very positive,” he said, hoping for similar success in the south.
Overall, the campaign aims to fully vaccinate more than 640,000 children in Gaza, with a third phase set to be launched in the north.
Wateridge warned, however, that “in the southern area it’s going to be more difficult to reach a lot of the population,” as the designated humanitarian zones — where Israel has agreed not to strike during the campaign — do not cover all children.
A relative lull in fighting in these areas has offered a brief respite to families after weeks of intense bombing and fighting.
There were still “a lot of strikes this morning and through the night,” Wateridge said, but “one thing I noticed yesterday was, you know, going an hour without hearing a bomb, you notice that.”


Israeli fire kills 11 Palestinians as tanks roll into central Gaza camp

Israeli fire kills 11 Palestinians as tanks roll into central Gaza camp
Updated 6 sec ago

Israeli fire kills 11 Palestinians as tanks roll into central Gaza camp

Israeli fire kills 11 Palestinians as tanks roll into central Gaza camp
  • Overnight strikes kill at least 11, as Israeli tanks push into central Gaza
  • Israel is focusing its operations in the north and center
CAIRO: Israeli forces sent tanks into the western side of Gaza’s Nuseirat camp on Monday in a new incursion into the enclave’s central area, and Palestinian medics said Israeli military strikes had killed at least 11 people since Sunday night.
Residents said Israeli tanks opened fire as they rolled into that sector of the camp, one of the Gaza Strip’s eight historic refugee sites, causing panic among the population and displaced families.
One resident, Zaik Mohammad, said the tanks’ advance was a complete surprise.
“Some people couldn’t leave and remained trapped inside their homes, appealing to be allowed out, while others rushed out with whatever they could carry as they fled,” Mohammad, 25, who lives one kilometer away from the targeted area, told Reuters via a chat app.
With the war in Gaza now in its 14th month, Israel is focusing its operations in the north and center in what it says is a campaign to stop Hamas militants waging attacks and to prevent them from regrouping.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents have been told to evacuate the areas, fueling fears that they may never be allowed to return.
The already slim chances of a ceasefire receded further at the weekend when mediator Qatar said it was suspending its efforts until both Israel and Hamas showed greater willingness to reach an agreement.
In attacks overnight and into Monday, medics said seven people were killed in Nuseirat in two separate Israeli airstrikes, one that hit a tent encampment.
In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where Israeli forces have operated since Oct. 5, medics said four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
At Kamal Adwan Hospital near Beit Lahiya, medics said Israeli fire from a drone wounded three medical workers in the facility.
There was no Israeli comment on Monday’s violence.
The Israeli military said it killed a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas, Mohammad Abu Skhail, in a strike on Saturday at a command center inside a compound that previously served as a school in Gaza City. Palestinian medics said the attack killed six people.

Hospital Siege
Israeli forces have besieged the three hospitals in and around Jabalia for several weeks and hospital officials have refused orders to evacuate the facilities or leave their patients unattended despite the lack of food, medical, and fuel supplies.
The Israeli military accuses Hamas of exploiting Gaza’s civilian population for military purposes, a charge the militant group denies.
The army sent tanks into Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia camp in northern Gaza over a month ago. It said it had killed hundreds of militants in Jabalia and around it since the raids began.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said their fighters carried out ambushes, mortar fire, and anti-tank rocket attacks, claiming to have killed many Israeli soldiers in recent weeks.
On Monday, the Israeli military said it had expanded the “humanitarian zone” in the enclave. It also said it would allow more tents, shelter materials, food, water, and medical supplies to enter.
Its forces “will continue to work to achieve the war’s objectives, including dismantling Hamas and returning all the abductees,” it said.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave, home to more than 2.1 million people and now largely in ruins.
The war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and seizing another 253 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Israel’s military campaign has leveled much of Gaza and killed around 43,500 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say.

Israel says ‘certain progress’ on Lebanon ceasefire

Israel says ‘certain progress’ on Lebanon ceasefire
Updated 10 min 42 sec ago

Israel says ‘certain progress’ on Lebanon ceasefire

Israel says ‘certain progress’ on Lebanon ceasefire

JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Monday said there had been “certain progress” on a ceasefire in Lebanon after the Israeli army launched an operation in the country targeting Hezbollah.
“There is certain progress,” Saar said in response to a question about a possible ceasefire. “We are working with the Americans on the issue,” he told reporters in Jerusalem.


Initial reports of Israeli attack on Syria’s Homs countryside, Syrian state news agency reports

Initial reports of Israeli attack on Syria’s Homs countryside, Syrian state news agency reports
Updated 18 min 41 sec ago

Initial reports of Israeli attack on Syria’s Homs countryside, Syrian state news agency reports

Initial reports of Israeli attack on Syria’s Homs countryside, Syrian state news agency reports

DUBAI: Syrian state news agency SANA said on Monday that there were initial reports of an Israeli attack on the Chenchar area in Homs’ southern countryside in central Syria.


Iran aware of reports about Iranian-American journalist’s arrest, ministry says

Iran aware of reports about Iranian-American journalist’s arrest, ministry says
Updated 44 min 4 sec ago

Iran aware of reports about Iranian-American journalist’s arrest, ministry says

Iran aware of reports about Iranian-American journalist’s arrest, ministry says
  • Iran does not recognize second nationalities and treats dual nationals solely as Iranian

DUBAI: Iran’s foreign ministry is aware of reports about the arrest of Iranian-American journalist Reza Valizadeh in Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press reported that Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a US government-funded broadcaster, was believed to have been detained by Iran for some months.
“We are aware of reports regarding the arrest of one Iranian national, he is an Iranian national and I do not have information on his second citizenship. We are in contact with relevant institutions to follow up on the case,” Baghaei said when asked about Valizadeh in a press conference.
Iran does not recognize second nationalities and treats dual nationals solely as Iranians.
The US State Department had earlier acknowledged the imprisonment of Valizadeh, who previously worked for Radio Farda, an outlet under Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that is overseen by the US Agency for Global Media.


Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack near Jerusalem

Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack near Jerusalem
Updated 11 November 2024

Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack near Jerusalem

Yemen’s Houthis claim missile attack near Jerusalem
  • Houthis fired missiles targeting military base in area of Israel's Tel Aviv, spokesperson says
  • Israeli military said interception of projectile from Yemen caused fires in Bet Shemesh

JERUSALEM: Yemen’s Houthi militants said they conducted an attack Monday on central Israel, after the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from the Arabian Peninsula country.

In a statement, the Iran-backed Houthis said they carried out a “military operation targeting the Nahal Sorek military base” southeast of Jaffa, adding the “hit was accurate and led to a fire”.

Israeli firefighters were battling blazes west of Jerusalem, with the army saying the fires were sparked by debris from an intercepted missile fired from Yemen.
Firefighters were working to douse the blazes, conducting scans around Beit Shemesh to rule out more fires and “damage from interceptor/missile shrapnel,” the Jerusalem region fire service said.

In a statement, it said: “Following the sirens that sounded in the Shfelat Yehuda, Yehuda, and Lakhish areas of central Israel, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) intercepted one projectile that approached Israel from the direction of Yemen.
“The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”
Yemen’s Houthi militants, part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” against Israel and the United States, have periodically fired drones and missiles at Israel since the start of the Gaza war.
The Houthis have also waged a harassment campaign against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the Gaza war, severely disrupting the vital trade route.