DaysofPal – The Palestinian Ministry of Health has launched a catch-up vaccination campaign across the Gaza Strip, targeting children under the age of three who missed their essential immunizations during two years of war and blockade.
The 10-day campaign, carried out in cooperation with UNRWA and the Palestine Red Crescent Society and supported by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), will operate through 150 health centers across Gaza. The drive will run in three phases, each separated by a month, to reach all children who were unable to receive their doses during the conflict.
The ministry urged families to cooperate with healthcare teams and ensure their children complete their vaccinations, describing immunization as “the first and last line of defense against epidemics and diseases that threaten children’s lives.”
The campaign comes as Gaza’s devastated health system struggles to recover from what officials describe as a war of extermination, which caused near-total collapse of healthcare services and interrupted immunization programs, depriving hundreds of thousands of children of vital protection.
At the beginning of the war, health facilities under the Ministry of Health and UNRWA attempted to continue monthly vaccinations from limited stocks. However, Israeli restrictions on medical supplies soon led to severe shortages, halting regular immunization.
In the past two years, the Ministry, in partnership with international organizations, launched two emergency polio vaccination campaigns, one in September 2024 and another in February 2025, to contain the risk of outbreaks.
Health officials say the new campaign marks an effort to restore basic preventive care after the ceasefire that came into effect on October 10. Yet challenges persist. On Sunday, Ismail al-Thawabta, Director General of Gaza’s Government Media Office, told Anadolu Agency that Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement, blocking the entry of medicines and medical supplies even under limited humanitarian aid shipments.
Munir al-Barsh, Director General of the Ministry of Health, echoed these concerns, saying in a Telegram post that the occupation “insists on preventing the entry of medicines and medical supplies despite the dire need for them.”
Despite the shortages, health workers say the vaccination drive represents a critical step toward rebuilding Gaza’s shattered healthcare system and protecting a new generation of children from preventable diseases.
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