Polio vaccination drive starts in Gaza

A third mass polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza on Saturday, aiming to administer the first dose to nearly 600,000 children across the region.

In Jabalia, northern Gaza, children under 10 received their doses at a mosque, an area heavily damaged by last year’s Israeli military assault.

The campaign is being carried out with the support of multiple UN agencies, including the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which Israel has boycotted. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the campaign’s goal is to vaccinate more than 591,000 children by February 26, with over 1,700 UNRWA team members participating.

“This campaign follows the recent detection of polio in wastewater, posing a serious risk to children,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X.

Polio, a highly contagious virus that primarily affects children under five and can cause paralysis, resurfaced in Gaza for the first time in over two decades. The first two vaccination drives were conducted in late 2024 after traces of the virus were found in wastewater samples.

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has worsened due to more than 16 months of conflict between Israel and Hamas. Even before the war, the region faced an Israeli-imposed blockade for over 15 years, leading to the collapse of water infrastructure and the spread of stagnant sewage near densely populated areas—conditions that contributed to the virus’s resurgence last autumn.

On February 19, the WHO confirmed that new traces of poliovirus had been detected in wastewater samples.

Hoping for both protection from disease and long-term peace, Gaza resident Bassam al-Haou brought his daughters for vaccination.

“I also hope for stability for our innocent children so they can remain safe from violence,” he said.