EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell called for a three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to allow for a polio vaccination campaign.
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The Office of the Coordinator of the Government of Israel in the Palestinian Territories (COGAT) earlier said that polio vaccine was delivered to the enclave on Sunday. WHO and UNICEF previously called for a seven-day truce in Gaza in late August and September to allow vaccinations to begin. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called for a humanitarian pause during polio vaccination in the enclave.
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“The rapid spread of polio threatens all children in Gaza, already weakened by displacement, deprivation and malnutrition. I call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for three days to allow WHO and UNICEF vaccinations, independent of wider negotiations,” Borrell wrote.
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At the end of July, the Palestinian Ministry of Health declared a polio epidemic in the Gaza Strip, citing fighting in the enclave that had continued for nine months as the main reason for the spread of the disease. Ahmed al-Rabii, an engineer for the water supply service of the coastal municipalities of the Gaza Strip, told that the polio epidemic was partly caused by a “water crisis” in the enclave, where wastewater treatment and discharge ceased after the outbreak of hostilities.
