Massive polio vaccination campaign begins in Gaza

The campaign began with a small number of vaccinations on Saturday and aims to reach about 640,000 children

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis Picture: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies have begun a large-scale campaign of vaccinations against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory that has been ravaged by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday, before moving on to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the strip.