Israel is blocking the entry into Gaza of 1.6 million syringes as well as solar-powered fridges to store vaccines.
The United Nations children’s fund, Unicef, is carrying out its first mass immunisation campaign for children since the war began in October 2023.
The syringes have been stuck in customs since August. Along with the fridges, these are considered by Israel to be “dual use”, with military as well as civilian applications.
Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing and selling humanitarian supplies or using them to fuel its war effort.
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“After two years of relentless violence that claimed the lives of more than 20,000 children in the Gaza Strip, we finally have an opportunity to protect those who survived,” Jonathan Veitch, Unicef special representative to Palestine, said.
The vaccination campaign has begun with current supplies, but more will be needed.
While limited amounts of humanitarian aid have reached Gaza since the October 10th ceasefire, 938,000 bottles of instant infant formula have also been blocked.
Unicef spokesperson Ricardo Pires said: “That’s nearly one million bottles that could be reaching children who have been differing from different levels of malnutrition.”
He said Gaza previously had 98 per cent vaccination coverage and 55 immunisation sites, but “coverage has fallen below 70 per cent with 31 vaccination facilities destroyed or damaged”.
He described the current effort as “the first step towards restoring pre-conflict vaccination levels and rebuilding Gaza’s damaged health system”, warning that this will require “important and urgent donor support”.
Cogat, the Israeli agency overseeing aid for Gaza, did not comment, but has previously denied limiting the entry of food, water, medical supplies and shelter materials that UN and aid agencies had sought to import into Gaza.
Unicef began the first of three rounds of catch-up immunisations on Sunday for 40,000 children, or 20 per cent of toddlers under three, who missed routine vaccinations against polio, measles and pneumonia due to Israeli attacks on the enclave’s health facilities.
This round will last until November 18th, while second and third rounds are scheduled to take place in December and January.
In all, 450 health workers have been trained for the campaign, which includes examining children for malnutrition and other health problems.
World Health Organisation (WHO) representative Dr Richard Peeperkorn said: “This immunisation campaign is a lifeline, protecting children’s health and restoring hope for the future.
“Much more is needed, and WHO is working to rebuild Gaza’s fragile health system so every child, every community, can access the care they deserve.”
On Wednesday, Israel reopened the Zikim crossing for aid deliveries into northern Gaza. This had been closed for two months while Israel conducted a military offensive in Gaza City where UN monitors reported that Palestinians faced famine.
Zikim will operate permanently along with the Karem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza.
