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Israel, Hamas Agree to ‘Humanitarian Pauses’ for Polio Vaccinations in Gaza, WHO Says
An Israeli military convoy moves inside the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, June 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
JNS.org — The World Health Organization announced that Israel and Hamas have given a “preliminary commitment” to conduct “humanitarian pauses” to allow the global body to begin a polio vaccination campaign, starting this Sunday, in the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian-controlled territories, told reporters on Thursday that the organization will spend three days each in the central, southern and northern parts of the Strip in an attempt to vaccinate at least 90 percent of the population, particularly children.
That rate, which Peeperkorn said is required to stem a potential outbreak of the disease — once among the most feared in the United States — is achievable, he said. He acknowledged the challenges, including a breakdown of infrastructure and safety in Gaza.
The first confirmed case of polio in a quarter century was a 10-month-old baby in Gaza born just before Hamas’s terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. Children in the coastal enclave were largely vaccinated before the war, but hundreds of thousands have missed vaccinations since, according to the WHO.
Peeperkorn left the nature and parameters of the pauses largely undefined but said they would take place daily between 6 am and 3 pm, local time. The WHO might need more than three days in each region to get the job done, and there is an agreement in place to add a fourth day in a zone if necessary, he said.
The WHO has also secured an agreement from Israel not to issue evacuation orders in a region of Gaza where the vaccination campaign is taking place, Peeperkorn said.
It aims to vaccinate 640,000 children under 10 years of age.
“I’m not going to say this is the ideal way forward, but this is a workable way forward,” said the WHO representative of the pauses.
The agreement on pauses for the polio vaccinations are separate from larger negotiations between Israel and Hamas, via intermediaries in Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, for a deal that would include a ceasefire and hostage release, in exchange for security prisoners.
Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters that the terror group is “ready to cooperate with international organizations to secure this campaign, serving and protecting more than 650,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip.”
JNS sought comment from the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating civilian life in Gaza, including humanitarian aid.
COGAT stated on Sunday “polio vaccines for 1.255 million people were delivered to Gaza today via the Kerem Shalom Crossing.”
“This is done in coordination with WHO and UNICEF, and as part of our humanitarian efforts. In the coming days, international and local medical teams will vaccinate children who have not yet been vaccinated against polio at various locations in Gaza,” COGAT stated.
“The vaccination campaign in Gaza led by WHO and UNICEF will be conducted in coordination with the IDF through COGAT, as part of the routine humanitarian pauses that will allow the population to reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered,” it added.
Dr. Peeperkorn stated the campaign will involve providing two drops of the novel oral polio vaccine, and WHO’s efforts will be supported by UNICEF, Hamas’s health ministry, and other partners.
The second dose will be given four weeks after the first, and there are nearly 400 fixed sites for vaccinations across Gaza.
Polio vaccines for 1,255,000 people were delivered to Gaza today via the Kerem Shalom Crossing.
This is done in coordination with @WHO and @UNICEF, and as part of our humanitarian efforts.
In the coming days, international and local medical teams will vaccinate children who… pic.twitter.com/prVzD1R56s
— COGAT (@cogatonline) August 25, 2024
The post Israel, Hamas Agree to ‘Humanitarian Pauses’ for Polio Vaccinations in Gaza, WHO Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.