We need to vaccinate our children against polio because diseases in the Gaza Strip have increased due to the Israeli war."
It's really that perfect storm of conditions that created the environment in which polio can occur,
At first, I was afraid because of rumours that [the vaccine was experimental], especially since it came from Israel, so at the beginning I did not accept the idea. But I was reassured by the Ministry of Health and decided to go,
The children have already suffered a lot after contracting skin pimples and infectious diseases such as hepatitis,
The families and children are coming and they’re really excited to receive the vaccination … So, it’s very encouraging that the start of the campaign is quite positive,
We escaped death with our children, and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases,
We haven't given him any treatments. We live in a tent and there is no medication,
I believe it’s going to [be] really unlikely for the vaccine campaign to reach the 90 percent of children that need to be vaccinated,
I want to make the following clear: the safest and most effective way to protect children against the poliovirus, regardless of the variant, is to vaccinate them,
Israel will allow only a humanitarian corridor through which the vaccinators will pass and demarcated areas will be established that will be safe for administering the vaccine for a few hours,
The vaccine campaign doesn’t address the core issue, which is the lack of hygiene, sanitation and clean water,
There’s just no guarantee of safety. These people that need to bring their children to these clinics – first of all, do they have access to the clinics? Do they have fuel or the means to get to the clinics? Is it safe? Is it safe for the staff to get to the clinics? I know that we’ve got these brief humanitarian pauses. But is it sufficient? No,
Today is test time for parties to the conflict to respect these area pauses to allow the UNRWA teams and other medical workers to reach children with these very precious two drops. It’s a race against time,
This is the first few hours of the first phase of a massive campaign, one of the most complex in the world,
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,
There are a lot of drones flying over central Gaza and we hope this vaccination campaign for children will be calm,
Children continue to be exposed, it knows no borders, checkpoints or lines of fighting. Every child must be vaccinated in Gaza and Israel to curb the risks of this vicious disease spreading,
It is scientifically known that for every 200 virus infections, only one will show the full symptoms of polio, while the remaining cases may present mild symptoms such as a cold or a slight fever,
It may be reasonable to ask if there is an intentional effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system, an action known as ‘scholasticide’,
I am appealing to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away, guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign,