Gaza: The number of victims of the Israeli aggression rises to 40,691 martyrs, and a vaccination campaign against polio begins

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced, on Saturday, that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli war on the Strip has risen to "40,691 martyrs and 94,060 wounded" since October 7, 2023.

The ministry said in its statistical report for the 330th day of the war, via the Telegram platform: "The death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 40,691 martyrs and 94,060 injuries since October 7."

She explained that "the Israeli occupation committed 5 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, 89 martyrs and 205 wounded people arrived at hospitals during the past 48 hours."

The report pointed out that "a number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them."

In another context, the Ministry of Health in Gaza launched a polio vaccination campaign for children under 10 years old from the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, in cooperation with international institutions, amid the ongoing Israeli war.

Anadolu Agency's correspondent in Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis reported that medical teams and volunteers began administering vaccinations to children, following a joint press conference by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and UNRWA, in which they announced the launch of the campaign, which will continue until September 12.

"We have started a campaign to vaccinate children against polio in the Gaza Strip," said Majdi Daher, head of the technical committee for the vaccination campaign, during a press conference held prior to the start of the campaign.

He added: "Through the campaign, we seek to reach more than 90 percent of children in all governorates of the Gaza Strip, from north to south."

He added, "A polio vaccination campaign for children under the age of 10 in the Gaza Strip (will be completed) tomorrow, Sunday, in the central areas of the Strip (from September 1 to 4)."

He pointed out that after the central regions, the vaccination campaign is scheduled to be completed in Khan Yunis between September 5 and 9, and then continue in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip from the 9th to the 12th of the same month.

On August 16, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a 7-day humanitarian truce to implement a polio campaign targeting 640,000 children, which was directly supported by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) at the time.

This call came after the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the registration of the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip, in a 10-month-old child.

Over the months of war, health and human rights organizations have warned of the spread of diseases and epidemics in the Strip due to the shortage of medicines and vaccinations, and the difficult health and living conditions experienced by the displaced.

With American support, Israel is waging its bloody war on the Gaza Strip, which has entered its 11th month, and has led, in addition to the dead and wounded, most of whom are children and women, to massive destruction and a deadly famine.

Israel continues this war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Source: Anadolu Agency