ISTANBUL

Just over a week into an immunization campaign in Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) has vaccinated over 10,000 children, the head of the UN agency announced on Wednesday.

"WHO and partners have vaccinated more than 10,000 children aged under three in Gaza in the first 8 days of an immunization vaccination campaign launched on 9 November and that has been extended until this Saturday," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on US social media platform X.

He noted that the campaign aims to reach more than 40,000 children, protecting them from measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, polio, rotavirus, and pneumonia.

Tedros added that phase two and three of the campaign are planned for next month and then January 2026.

"I am heartened to see the ceasefire continues to hold, as it allows WHO and partners to scale up critical health services across Gaza and support the re-equipping and reconstruction needed of its devastated health system," he added.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, injured over 170,000, and reduced most of the enclave to rubble.

During those two years, Israeli attacks also targeted health care facilities, hospitals, and medics, in what is likely a war crime, and also cut off deliveries of medicine and medical supplies, leaving millions of Palestinians with no way to treat illnesses and illnesses.