Israeli airstrikes on Saturday resulted in the deaths of at least 48 individuals in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health authorities. Concurrently, clashes occurred in central and southern regions of the enclave prior to the scheduled commencement of a polio vaccination initiative.
The United Nations is due to start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the territory against polio, relying on daily eight-hour pauses in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in specific areas of the besieged enclave.
Yousef Abu Al-Reesh, Gaza's deputy minister of health, said vaccination teams would try to get to as many areas as possible to ensure wide coverage, but he said only a comprehensive ceasefire could guarantee enough children are reached.
The Gaza Ministry of Health has announced that since the beginning of the Gaza War on October 7, 2023, the number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip has reached more than 40,500 and the number of wounded has reached more than 92,500, of which 33% are children. 8.6% are elderly and 18.4% are women.
