Israeli strikes in Gaza killed more than a dozen people overnight Saturday, hospital and local authorities said, as health workers attempt to administer polio vaccinations amid potential rise in infections.
Health authorities in the region teamed up with United Nations agencies to begin distributing polio vaccines to children in Gaza last weekend. There are an estimated 640,000 in the Gaza Strip who need to be vaccinated as fears mount about an outbreak in the war-torn region.
Medics said the Israeli strike hit the Halima al-Sa-diyya school compound that is serving as a shelter for displaced people. In addition to the dead, it wounded 15 others. Another strike hit a house in Gaza City, Reuters reported.
Later Saturday, another blast hit the Amr Ibn Al’as school, another building used to temporarily house those who have evacuated their homes amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, wounding 25.
Israel’s military said the strikes were targeting a command center used by Hamas gunmen inside the compound, the international news wire reported.
The strikes come after the World Health Organization (WHO) said there would be “humanitarian pauses” in the war to allow for the polio vaccine drive.
The second phase of vaccinations in the south of Gaza was in its final day Saturday, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The effort will move to the north and conclude on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
Officials estimate they need to vaccinate at least 90 percent of the kids in Gaza to stop the transmission of polio. More than 2,100 workers have administering vaccines to children.
The war in Gaza has raged on for exactly 11 months since Hamas launched a surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7, which killed 1,200 people, and took more than 250 people as hostages. In its counteroffensive, the Israeli strikes have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local officials.
Cease-fire and hostage release negotiations are still the works, but have stalled, spurring fears that a major escalation of conflict in the Middle East is around the corner.