UN Calls for Gaza Ceasefire Amid Polio Outbreak

The Gaza Strip faces an urgent polio outbreak after the first case in 25 years was confirmed in a 10-month-old child, with the virus detected in wastewater in multiple locations. Israel has shipped over 280,000 vials of polio vaccine to Gaza and plans to send more to vaccinate over a million children. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF are coordinating a mass vaccination campaign, requiring at least a seven-day ceasefire to administer 1.6 million doses. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and various aid groups have called for pauses in the fighting to prevent a full-blown outbreak, emphasizing that polio does not respect conflict lines. Meanwhile, the deteriorating conditions in crowded tent camps with poor sanitation exacerbate the risk, with hundreds of thousands of children in immediate danger. Despite the war, efforts continue to facilitate safe conditions for vaccination teams to avert a public health crisis.