Israel Agrees to Humanitarian Pauses in Gaza

The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that Israel has agreed to ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza to facilitate a polio vaccination campaign, as confirmed by WHO’s representative in the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn. The campaign is scheduled to commence on September 1st for three days in central Gaza and later expand to southern and northern regions. Hamas has welcomed the UN’s request for pauses and is ready to cooperate with international organizations. This comes as the first case of polio in 25 years was detected in Gaza, raising fears of rapid spread among children. WHO has announced that over 640,000 children in Gaza will be vaccinated against the type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2). The polio virus, known for causing paralysis and sometimes death, was a dreaded disease in Denmark until the advent of the vaccine in 1955.