The United Nations called on Friday for a seven-day truce in Gaza to vaccinate 640,000 children against polio.
The World Health Organization reported that UN agencies want to provide the oral polio vaccine type 2 to children under the age of ten later this month.
It added, "In the absence of humanitarian truces, it will not be possible to implement the campaign."
Last July, the World Health Organization revealed that there is a high possibility of a polio outbreak in and around the Gaza Strip due to the dire health situation and the deterioration of the sewage system in the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
Ayadil Saparbekov, head of the WHO's health emergency team in Gaza and the West Bank, said that the polio virus has been detected in samples of sewage in Gaza.
He told reporters in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem, "There is a high risk of the spread of vaccine-derived polio virus in Gaza, not only because of its discovery but also because of the very poor situation in terms of water sanitation."
“It could also spread internationally, at a very difficult stage,” he explained.
Polio is a highly contagious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis, and mainly affects children under the age of five.
Public health officials and aid organizations warn that without adequate health services, Gazans in particular will be vulnerable to disease outbreaks.
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