Eleven months into the war, multiple rounds of diplomacy have so far failed to clinch a ceasefire deal to end the conflict and bring the release of Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza as well as many Palestinians jailed in Israel. The two warring sides continued to blame one another for the fruitless efforts of mediators including Qatar, Egypt and the United States. The US is preparing to present a new ceasefire proposal to hammer out differences, but prospects of a breakthrough remain dim as gaps between the sides remain wide.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, were engaged in combat with Hamas in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, where locals claim tanks have been in operation for more than a week, in the eastern Khan Younis neighborhoods, and in Rafah, close to the Egyptian border, where locals claim Israeli forces demolished multiple homes.
Eleven months into the conflict, several diplomatic attempts to bring about a ceasefire agreement that would free Israeli and international captives detained in Gaza and free a large number of Palestinian prisoners in Israel have so far failed.
The conflicting parties persisted in blaming one another for the futile attempts of mediators, which included the US, Qatar, Egypt, and Egypt. To resolve disagreements, the US is getting ready to provide a fresh ceasefire proposal, but chances of a resolution are still slim because of how far apart the parties are.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Thursday that in order to secure a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, both Israel and the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas must agree to the outstanding concerns.
In the meantime, people from Khan Younis and families who had been uprooted from Rafah kept packing hospitals and bringing their kids to get polio shots. Following the revelation of a case involving a one-year-old infant who was partially crippled, the campaign was started.POLIO ADVANTAGE SENDING OFF TO NORTHERN GAZA
In 25 years, there hasn’t been a documented incidence of the illness in Gaza, one of the most populous areas on Earth. It reappeared as the war had rendered several hospitals inoperable and Gaza’s health system all but crumbled.
At least 160,000 children in southern Gaza received the drops on Thursday as medical personnel started the second phase of the campaign, according to UNRWA, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees. These children benefited from an agreement between Hamas and Israel on brief breaks in hostilities.
“Since 1 September @UNRWA & partners have vaccinated nearly 355,000 children against #polio in #Gaza middle & southern areas,” UNRWA announced in a post on X.
“In the next few days we’ll continue rolling out the polio vaccination campaign aiming to reach around 640,000 children under 10 with this critical vaccine,” it added.
UNRWA’s Director of Communications, Juliette Touma, praised the campaign as a much-needed step forward. She stated that UNRWA collaborates with local health partners, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization.
“A ceasefire is long needed; these brief stops do not, however, take the place of our calls for one. It’s time to come to an agreement that would provide the people of Gaza some reprieve, free all captives, and allow a continuous supply of goods, both humanitarian and commercial, to enter the territory, Touma told Reuters.
The northern Gaza Strip, which has been the target of the main Israeli military offensive for the previous 11 months, will be the next front in the war starting on Sunday. Four weeks following the first round of vaccines, the World Health Organization states that a second round would be necessary.
