Gazans rush to vaccinate children as new polio drive launches

Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories: Children in Khan Yunis tilted their heads back, mouths open, as they received oral drops during the second phase...

Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories: Children in Khan Yunis tilted their heads back, mouths open, as they received oral drops during the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, which began on Thursday.

"I have been vaccinated," five children said proudly one by one, their inked fingers proof of their inoculation against polio.

Gaza's health ministry reported the first case of polio in 25 years last month, amid the devastating Israel-Hamas war in the Palestinian territory.

At tent camps for the displaced, schools-turned-shelters and health centres, parents brought babies, infants and teenagers for vaccines provided by UN agencies.

"I live in a tent next to a sewage pond with significant disease and epidemic issues, and mosquitoes and worms have affected us," said Amani Ashur, 37, who brought his one-year-old son Abdul Rahman to be vaccinated.