Palestinian officials reported on Monday that Israeli forces have killed at least 48 Palestinians over the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip during clashes with Hamas-led militants. Meanwhile, medics continued with the second day of polio vaccinations for children in the region. On the first day of the vaccination campaign, over 80,000 children were vaccinated in central areas of Gaza, according to Palestinian and UN officials. Both Hamas and Israel have agreed to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the vaccination of approximately 640,000 children, with no reported incidents near vaccination sites.
Palestinian officials also stated that seven Palestinians were killed in two Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, and six others were killed in air strikes in Bureij and Nuseirat, two of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee camps. The Israeli military has not yet commented on these incidents. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad claimed that their fighters engaged Israeli forces in various parts of Gaza with anti-tank rockets and mortar fire.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, reiterated its call for an immediate ceasefire to ensure the safety and success of the polio vaccination campaign. On the first day alone, UNRWA teams and partners vaccinated around 87,000 children, according to the WHO. The agency emphasized the need for a ceasefire on its social media platform.
Israel and Hamas continue to blame each other for the failure to achieve a ceasefire, which would end the ongoing conflict and lead to the release of hostages and prisoners. Parents brought their infants to medical facilities for vaccination, as the WHO noted a decline in routine vaccinations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, contributing to the re-emergence of polio. Polio myelitis is a highly infectious virus that can cause paralysis and death in infants, particularly those under two years old.
The WHO confirmed last month that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years. Palestinians attribute the resurgence of polio to the collapse of the health system and the destruction of most hospitals in the Gaza Strip. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes, a claim denied by the Islamist group. The ongoing war in Gaza, which began in October, has resulted in an estimated 40,786 Palestinian deaths and over 94,000 injuries, according to the enclave's health ministry.
In Israel, a general strike was observed on Monday, with labor unions and businesses pressuring the government to secure the release of remaining Israeli hostages. The Labour Court later ruled that the strike must end at 2:30 pm (1130 GMT). Protests in Israel have intensified following the discovery of six hostages' bodies in a tunnel in southern Gaza.
