Two vaccination rounds took place in September and October 2024, reaching more than 95 percent of the children targeted with the necessary two doses of the oral vaccine (Abdul Hakim Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images)
At least 602,000 children are at risk of permanent paralysis and other chronic disabilities unless they receive the necessary vaccines soon, the health ministry in war-torn Gaza said on Sunday.
In a statement shared on social media, the ministry said: “The Israeli occupation’s prevention of the entry of polio vaccines into the Gaza Strip constitutes a time bomb that threatens to spread the epidemic.”
The ministry added that preventing the entry of vaccines was an indirect targeting of Gaza’s children, warning that this threatens to collapse all efforts made over the past seven months with the polio rollout in Gaza which could lead to “serious and catastrophic repercussions” on the already battered healthcare system.
“The Ministry of Health calls on all relevant parties to pressure the occupation to allow the entry of vaccines, and to provide safe corridors to ensure access to children in all areas” of the Gaza Strip, the statement concluded.
Following the outbreak of polio in Gaza, the World Health Organization spearheaded a vaccination campaign to protect children from the disease.
In February, during a fragile truce, the WHO said the polio vaccination drive was exceeding expectations but warned of the impacts of US funding cuts.
Since the disease resurfaced in Gaza for the first time in over 20 years, two vaccination rounds took place in September and October 2024, reaching more than 95 percent of the children targeted with the necessary two doses of the oral vaccine.
But environmental samples from two sites, collected in December 2024 and January 2025, found poliovirus was still circulating.
Also on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry said that 13,000 people needed to leave the enclave to receive specialised treatment for other injuries and diseases.
Over the weekend, the health ministry’s general director Dr Muneer al-Boursh told Al Jazeera network that Gaza was taking “its last breaths”, making a plea to Islamic nations and the international community to help the Palestinian territory “before it’s too late.”
“More than 15,000 children have died … what more does the world want?” he asked.
The humanitarian catastrophe continues to deepen as Israel maintains its total siege on the Gaza Strip, blocking the entry of life-saving aid including food, fuel, medical supplies, and vaccines.
On 18 March, Israel unilaterally resumed airstrikes, shattering a fragile truce with Hamas that had held since January. The ceasefire had facilitated the exchange of captives and allowed limited humanitarian access. Its collapse has triggered a new wave of mass casualties, displacement, and aid disruption.
Israel’s actions have been widely condemned for violating international humanitarian law, with rights groups accusing it of collective punishment and systematic attacks on civilian infrastructure, including healthcare.
Gaza’s health system is in freefall. Most hospitals have been partially or entirely destroyed, and those still standing operate under siege conditions with barely any resources.
Since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed close to 50,700 Palestinians and wounded over 115,000 others, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The vast majority of those killed are civilians, particularly women and children.
