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Tel Aviv/Gaza/New York While Israel’s army is taking action against militant Palestinians as part of its large-scale operation in the West Bank, ceasefires lasting several hours in the Gaza Strip are intended to enable the mass vaccination of hundreds of thousands of children against polio. According to the United Nations, Israel has agreed to daily, limited ceasefires starting the day after tomorrow.

The US is increasing pressure on Israel after a UN vehicle was shot at. The ally explained the incident as a communication error between the armed forces, said the US deputy ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

After the discovery of polio viruses in sewage, the United Nations decided to vaccinate around 640,000 children under the age of ten in the Gaza Strip. Starting this Sunday, fighting will cease in three parts of the sealed-off coastal strip from morning to afternoon for three consecutive days, said Rik Peeperkorn, representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Gaza. He cited a promise from Cogat, the Israeli agency responsible for Palestinian affairs.

EU foreign minister Josep Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels: “Let us hope that it is not too late. Let us hope that this glimmer of hope in a sea of ​​despair can save lives and prevent the tragedy of children falling ill with polio.”

The forum of relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas urged in a letter to the WHO that the kidnapped children also be vaccinated. © dpa/aerzteblatt.de