At least 27 people have been death in an Israeli attack on a polio vaccination program in Gaza, Palestine. The attack took place from Friday morning to night.
Health workers said two women and two children were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Nuseira, the largest and historic refugee camp in the valley. Eight people were killed in an airstrike in Gaza City, the largest city in Gaza, and the rest were residents of Khan Yunis, Rafa, Zeitoun.
A polio vaccination program for children in the Gaza Strip began on September 1. Children in the Valley are vaccinated against polio at this time every year, and the entire program is overseen by three United Nations agencies—the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and UNRWA.
Israeli forces and Hamas have agreed to a 9-hour daily ceasefire until the vaccination program ends.
Initially, the vaccination program was from September 1 to September 3. However, on September 3, Palestinians who took refuge in the Gaza border town of Rafah said that many children there had not been vaccinated. Hence the duration of the program is further extended.
