Final phase of polio vaccination in Gaza suspended amid Israeli attacks

The final stage of Gaza’s polio vaccination campaign has been suspended due to Israeli assaults on northern regions, leaving nearly 120,000 children without their second dose

The final phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip was suspended today as Israeli assaults on northern regions continued, making it impossible for medics and families to safely reach immunization points. Despite multiple attempts by UN teams to negotiate humanitarian pauses during the vaccination drive, Israel refused to provide the necessary security guarantees.

Health workers had managed to vaccinate 94% of children under ten in central and southern regions over the past week, but attacks on civilian infrastructure in the north are leaving nearly 120,000 children without their second dose, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. The head of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that this disruption will affect the overall impact of the vaccination campaign.

Israeli obstructions to the delivery of medical supplies and direct attacks on hospitals have exacerbated the health crisis further. Kamal Adwan Hospital, for example, experienced relentless bombardment during a WHO-led medical evacuation mission on October 20-21. The mission, which finally managed to transfer 14 patients to Al-Shifa Hospital, was delayed multiple times. Israeli authorities refused to allow the team to bring fuel, blood supplies, and food to Kamal Adwan. While en route to Al-Shifa, ambulances were halted for security checks, and patients on stretchers were left lying on the ground during the screening. “Some partner staff faced humiliating treatment,” the WHO noted.

Despite the hospital operating on almost no supplies, the number of patients further increased over the past day as attacks on surrounding areas continued. Dr. Mohammed Obeid of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) described the horrific scenes inside Kamal Adwan: “We have 30 people dead inside the hospital, and around 130 injured patients who need urgent medical care. Medical staff are exhausted, and many are injured as well,” Obeid stated. “We feel hopeless. I just don’t have words.”

Al-Awda Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza are likely facing the same situation, but full assessments have been hindered by communication breakdowns attributed to Israeli operations.

Israel’s extermination campaign in northern Gaza raises concerns about the fate of Lebanon’s health centers, which have also become targets of Israeli attacks and propaganda. Al-Sahel Hospital in Beirut, for example, has been accused of harboring resistance funds. Fearing that a physical attack will follow the allegations, as seen on multiple occasions in Gaza, health workers transferred patients to other facilities and invited journalists to inspect the hospital. Despite media reports documenting that there is no evidence to corroborate Israel’s statements, grounded fears persist that Lebanon’s health infrastructure could face the same fate as Gaza’s.

In Palestine, the public health crisis deepens. Over one million cases of acute respiratory infections have been reported in the Gaza Strip, alongside widespread diarrhea and skin infections. The suspension of the polio vaccination campaign now threatens to exacerbate the situation further. On top of it all, hunger continues to spread, with a recent report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projecting a threefold increase in the number of people facing catastrophic food insecurity between November 2024 and April 2025. Tens of thousands of young children and pregnant women are expected to become acutely malnourished in the coming months. “Whether people are on the verge of famine or in famine, they are in absolutely desperate conditions, and this is completely man-made,” said Sam Rose from UNRWA.

The elderly population is another group suffering disproportionately as a result of the destruction. Thousands of elderly people remain trapped in their homes, unable to flee due to mobility issues, living in fear of Israeli bombs with no access to food. Approximately 40,000 are estimated to be living in forced displacement, without medicines or adequate care for chronic diseases.

With northern Gaza’s health infrastructure collapsing under relentless Israeli attacks, the situation is expected to deteriorate further—if that’s even imaginable. “A complete lack of health care in North Gaza would make an already catastrophic situation worse, and lead to more lives being lost,” the WHO said.