UNITED NATIONS — UNITED NATIONS (AP) — United Nations officials on Wednesday praised limited pauses in fighting between Israel And Hamas allow polio vaccinations in children as rare moments of hope in the nearly year-long war in Gaza.
Top UN peacebuilding and humanitarian officials spoke at a meeting requested by Israel, which was backed by its allies, permanent council members with veto power France, Great Britain and the United StatesThe Israeli ambassador on Wednesday focused on the hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel that started the war, and the recent killing of six prisoners.
Algeriawhich is part of the 15-member council until next year, has also requested that the UN body meet to discuss the broader situation in the Palestinian territories.
Both Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, and Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations and Advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, called the polio-induced pauses in the fighting a rare bright spot. So did representatives from France, Britain, the US and other countries.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. There have indeed been signs in recent days that humanitarian goals can inspire positive steps,” Wosornu told the council.
“This vaccination campaign shows that it is possible to have humanitarian actors on the ground,” French Ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Rivière told the council. “That should become the rule.”
According to the UN World Health Organization, 187,000 children in Gaza have been vaccinated against polio, with an ultimate target of 640,000. WHO and its partners launched the campaign this week after Gaza recently reported the first polio case in 25 years — a 10 month old boy, now paralyzed in one leg.
Israel has said the vaccination program will continue until Monday and lasts eight hours per day.
Health officials have been concerned about the spread of disease in the besieged area. The war has created a humanitarian disaster, with people crammed into squalid tent camps and dirty sewage flowing through the streets.
Slovenia’s Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, president of the Security Council for September, told reporters on Tuesday that there was “growing concern in the council” about the lack of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement to stop the violence.
In June, the Security Council adopted a resolution endorsing a ceasefire aimed at ending the war. Russia abstained.
“Something has to change no matter what,” Zbogar said of honoring the deal or finding other options.
The Hamas attacks of October 7 killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages. The Israeli army’s retaliation has killed more than 40,000 Palestiniansaccording to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which makes no distinction between civilians and fighters in its count.