Mousa Abed, general director of Primary Health Care at the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, told reporters that this figure constitutes 69 percent of the total number of children of this age in the coastal enclave.

Abed deplored the complex situation the vaccination program is facing because of the Israeli army’s aggression.

He pointed out that they have been waiting for several days for the Israel to clear a request to coordinate access to seven other areas in the Southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah, which were hit hard by the Army’s raids.

The first phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the central governorate succeeded beyond expectations, as 195,000 children were immunized, 35,000 more than planned, the doctor stressed.

Inas Hamdan, acting director of the Information Office in Gaza for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), over the weekend warned of great hurdles affecting the vaccination, in particular attacks launched by the Israeli army.

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