Almost 100,000 children vaccinated against polio in Gaza

We are grateful for the dedication of all the families, health workers and vaccinators who made this part of the campaign a success despite the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip,

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter

There is a raising anxiousness in the council that it has to move one way or the other - either there is a ceasefire or that the council then reflects on what else we can do to bring the ceasefire,

We want to ensure... there will be no other Gaza children who actually will suffer from polio,

Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative for the Palestinian territories, told reporters on Wednesday

We still have 10 days to go at least" for the whole first portion of the campaign

In phase one, Israel is going to stay on that line until we have a practical solution on the ground that can convince the people of Israel … that what happened on 7 October will not happen again. That Hamas will not rearm.”

Speaking to Bloomberg, Dermer said

We are trying to reach that 90 per cent vaccination coverage, but there are a huge number of challenges,

We have already repeatedly been demanding that we receive this information because resolution 2735 has concrete parameters in it and we cannot step beyond those parameters,

Polyanskiy said

We’re using permanent markers to draw a line on the left hand of children who have been vaccinated. Then we go tent to tent, shelter to shelter, to find the children we haven’t reached yet,

Great progress! Every day in the Middle Areas of #Gaza, more children are getting vaccines against #Polio,

It does not have to be this way. Indeed, over the past few days, there have been signs that humanitarian objectives can inspire positive steps,

If the parties can act to protect children from a deadly virus ... surely they can and must act to protect children and all innocents from the horrors of war,

said his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric

Humanitarian pauses are being respected overall, but this morning around 7am, there was heavy gunfire in the Nuseirat area, where fighting was supposed to be halted,

said Louise Wateridge, Senior Communications Officer for UNRWA, who has been accompanying vaccinators in Gaza

We tried to take a path that would avoid the army, but we still were risking our lives,

We cannot protect our children. We are exposed to death at any moment due to the constant bombardment and insecurity. And I cannot protect them from diseases either,

This vaccination campaign demonstrates that it is possible to allow humanitarian actors to act on the ground,

French Ambassador to the U.N. Nicolas de Rivière told the council

That surpassed the target we set,

We are all suffering a lot. I am glad I can do one thing to protect my children.”

Our target for the central zone was an underestimation,

There are many tools that council has at (its) disposal."

When asked what action the council could take if the June resolution was not soon implemented, Zbogar said

We haven’t had any resistance and our team has been going into the community to explain to families why their children need the vaccine, and our clinic has been very busy,

Dr De Silva told The Telegraph

Yesterday, there was shooting around 6.30am that sounded like tank gunfire,

Israel views with importance the prevention of a polio outbreak in the Gaza Strip, including for the purpose of preventing the spread of diseases in the region

the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a statement last week

I'm pretty sure that in September it will have to go ... one way or the other, not because we want (it to), but because I think the patience is out,

My recommendation to you and your government would be: If you're going to contribute something positively, then contribute it, if not, then you should be quiet."

While these polio “pauses” are giving people some respite, what is urgently needed is a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages + the standard flow of humanitarian supplies including medical and hygiene supplies,

They were all abused, punished and tortured physically and psychologically in many ways,

Since the first case of polio appeared, the ministry of health has bent over backwards to do our part,

If you stick a knife in my back 9 inches and pull it out 6 inches, there’s no progress.”

Abdul Rahman was supposed to take his vaccination on the first day of the war, and our home was targeted and his medical booklet was left at home,

Today, we returned, going classroom to classroom to encourage the remaining children to get vaccinated. No one refused the vaccine, but some said the long lines the previous day had been a deterrent

But to start, I think one would be to establish that we have to move on from (resolution) 2735 because for the past three months the council was waiting implementation of that resolution,