Middle East crisis live: Failure to deliver polio vaccination programme would be disastrous for children in Gaza and beyond, UN warns

The World Health Organization has said the first three-day pause in fighting to allow for the vaccination of 640,000 children will start on Sunday

Full story: WHO says fighting pauses agreed to allow polio vaccinations

A spokesperson from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said:

The UK is deeply concerned by the ongoing IDF military operation in the occupied West Bank.

We recognise Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

The campaign will be in the middle area, the southern area and the northern area of the Gaza Strip.

From Sunday, we’re giving out two oral doses of the polio vaccination, and then four weeks after this initial round of campaigns, we will need to repeat the vaccination again, this is for 640,000 children across the Gaza Strip.”

It’s so important that we get this vaccination campaign out as soon as possible, and that we have the safety to do this, because the repercussions will be disastrous for not just children in the Gaza Strip, but children in the region. And they’ve already been put through so much.

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