Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a college sheltering displaced people, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in the northern Gaza Strip, September 3, 2024. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu AlkasĀ
Escalation of Conflict in Gaza: Israeli Airstrikes and Polio Vaccination Efforts
Casualties and Military Actions
On Tuesday, Israeli forces killed at least 35 Palestinians across Gaza in ongoing confrontations with Hamas-led militants, as reported by Palestinian officials. Among the victims were four women in Rafah and eight individuals near a hospital in Gaza City. A subsequent Israeli airstrike claimed the lives of nine Palestinians inside a house near Omar Al-Mokhtar Street in central Gaza City.
The Israeli military confirmed that it had killed eight Palestinian gunmen, including a senior Hamas commander, Ahmed Fozi Nazer Muhammad Wadia, who was allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks in Israel. This strike took place near the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Other airstrikes targeted locations across the territory, including near a college in the Sheikh Radwan suburb, where Hamas militants were reportedly operating from a command center within the former Nama College.
Ongoing Clashes and Humanitarian Efforts
Intense fighting continues in several areas, including the Zeitoun suburb of Gaza City, Rafah, and Khan Younis, with Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants resisting Israeli forces. Despite the ongoing conflict, brief humanitarian pauses in the fighting have allowed for the continuation of a polio vaccination campaign for children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it is ahead of its vaccination targets, having inoculated approximately 25% of children under 10 in Gaza. The campaign was prompted by the discovery of a polio case in a Gazan baby last month. These vaccination efforts are dependent on daily eight-hour pauses in the conflict, which have been critical to reaching vulnerable populations.
Diplomatic Stalemate
Efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire and negotiate the release of hostages held in Gaza, along with the return of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, have stalled. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli troops would remain in the Philadelphi corridor on the southern edge of Gaza, a major sticking point in negotiations. Hamas has insisted that such conditions, among others, hinder any potential agreement.
Netanyahu has reiterated that the war can only end when Hamas is fully eradicated, while Hamas demands the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Polio Vaccination Campaign
The United Nations, in partnership with local health authorities, has undertaken a significant effort to vaccinate approximately 640,000 children in Gaza against polio. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised the pauses in fighting, calling them a “rare ray of hope and humanity” amidst the ongoing conflict.
Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, reported that more than 161,000 children had been vaccinated in the first two days of the campaign, surpassing initial projections. However, challenges remain in reaching children in southern Gaza, where negotiations continue to expand the agreed-upon pause zones.
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