Health crisis in Gaza, casualties and displacements reported in West Bank – Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General – 06 September 2024

06 September 2024

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Occupied Palestinian Territory

Moving to the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Our colleagues from the Humanitarian Affairs department say that after the successful completion of the polio vaccination campaign in central Gaza, a new phase is now underway in south Gaza. The teams there aim to reach 340,000 children in four days. UNICEF says that about 161,000 children were reached yesterday on the first day of the campaign in southern Gaza.

Since 1 September, WHO [World Health Organization] says some 355,000 children have been vaccinated against polio in both the center and southern Gaza. OCHA says that more than 500 vaccination teams are now deployed in southern Gaza, including more than 380 mobile teams.

To ensure that no child goes without a vaccine, four large health facilities in central Gaza will continue to offer the vaccine for the next few days.

The third phase of the vaccination campaign is due to take place in northern Gaza between 9 and 11 September, and that will aim to reach about 150,000 children under the age of ten.

Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues say the medical evacuation of critically ill and injured patients outside the Gaza Strip remains generally suspended since the closure of the Rafah crossing four months ago.

An estimated 12,000 patients are waiting to leave Gaza to receive urgently needed medical care.

OCHA warns that limited access to clean water and to sanitation facilities – coupled with the lack of affordable hygiene items – is heightening the health crisis in Gaza. Just to give you an example, in July, the price of soap in Gaza had reportedly increased by nearly 1,200 per cent. That is comparing to last year. The price of shampoo had almost reached a 500 per cent increase over a year ago.

Our partners have been working to ensure that hundreds of thousands of hygiene kits can reach people in need, but those efforts continue to be hampered by our usual hurdles and that includes active conflict, access restrictions, the lack of public order and safety, and evacuation orders issued by Israeli authorities.

Turning to the West Bank, our humanitarian colleagues report that last night Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin and Tulkarm and their refugee camps following a large-scale operation that began on 28 August. The death toll from this operation has risen to 36, including eight children and two elderly men, that is according to OCHA.  Additionally, significant damage to civilian infrastructure, residential and livelihood shelters has been reported, deepening the people’s humanitarian needs. According to initial information from our humanitarian partners, more than 1,000 families in Jenin were displaced and are currently sheltering in various locations across the Jenin governorate.

Those families need water, food, baby formula, they need medicine, and they need other essential services and supplies.

Once again, we stress that Israeli forces must adhere to international law enforcement standards, where lethal force and firearms should only be used as a last resort and only against imminent threats of death or injury.

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