The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza polio vaccination centre on Saturday injured six people, including four children.
The attack on the Sheikh Radwan primary health care centre in northern Gaza occurred while parents were bringing their children for essential vaccinations, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed.
A source in Gaza’s civil defence attributed the strike to an Israeli quadcopter that fired missiles at the clinic’s wall, though the Israeli military has not commented. The WHO had just launched the second round of a polio vaccination campaign after earlier efforts were interrupted by Israeli bombings.
“This attack, during humanitarian pause, jeopardises the sanctity of health protection for children and may deter parents from bringing their children for vaccination,” Tedros warned, emphasising the urgent need to protect health services in conflict zones.
In north Gaza alone, some 119,000 children are awaiting their second dose of the polio vaccine. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
