Israel obstructs polio vaccination campaign in Gaza with its military attacks, detention of UN convoy
The UN convoy carrying polio vaccines that was stopped by the Israeli army. 9 September 2024
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reports on 10 September 2024:
Israel is obstructing the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip through its continued military attacks in vaccination-designated areas, along with obstructing the arrival of a UN convoy on its way to northern Gaza to implement the vaccination campaign.
At around 7:30 am today, Israeli warplanes bombed a group of Palestinians near a food kiosk in Gaza City’s Al-Shawa Square, killing five people, including a child. These attacks are part of a larger plan aimed at exacerbating the man-made humanitarian crisis plaguing Gaza and increasing the risk to the lives of children
The bombing occurred concurrently with the launch of the polio vaccination campaign in the area, which is being carried out by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in collaboration with the UN and regional organisations north of Wadi Gaza. Notably, that the bombing specifically targeted the area around a food kiosk in the neighbourhood of Al-Tuffah, which is situated between three locations that were deemed safe for administering polio vaccinations.
Based on information gathered by the Euro-Med Monitor field team, the targeted food stall is located in the Tuffah neighbourhood in the east of Gaza City, just a short distance from the safe vaccination centres that have been designated for the Tuffah, Al-Daraj, and Al-Balad neighbourhoods of Gaza City.
From the beginning of the polio vaccination campaign on 1 September, the Israeli army has ignored all calls for a humanitarian truce or a temporary cessation of attacks during vaccination hours. Instead, it has continued its military attacks on all areas of the Gaza Strip, from the north to the south, launching dozens of air raids targeting sites near vaccination centres in the southern, central, and now northern sections of the Strip.
Despite prior coordination, the Israeli occupation army detained a UN convoy on Monday for over eight hours. The convoy was on its way to northern Gaza when it was stopped at gunpoint just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint, with Israeli forces threatening to detain UN staff. Israeli military bulldozers also caused heavy damage to the UN armoured vehicles before eventually releasing all the staff; the convoy later returned safely to the UN base. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the convoy had both national and international staff travelling to roll out the polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza City and northern Gaza