UNICEF says Israel blocking 1 million syringes needed to vaccinate Gaza children

UNICEF said on Tuesday essential items including syringes to vaccinate children and bottles for baby formula are being denied entry into Gaza by Israel, preventing aid agencies from reaching those in need in the war-devastated territory.

As UNICEF undertakes a mass children’s vaccination campaign with a fragile ceasefire in place, it said it faces serious challenges getting 1.6 million syringes and solar-powered fridges to store vaccine vials into Gaza. The syringes have awaited customs clearance since August, UNICEF said.

“Both the syringes and the ... refrigerators are considered dual-use by Israel and these items we’re finding very hard to get them through clearances and inspections, yet they are urgent,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said.

“Dual-use” refers to items Israel deems to have possible military as well as civilian applications.

COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said it is not limiting the entry of food, water, medical supplies and shelter items. It has also accused Hamas of stealing humanitarian supplies, accusations the Palestinian militant group denies.

UNICEF launched the first of three rounds of catch-up immunizations on Sunday to reach over 40,000 children under three who missed routine vaccines against polio, measles and pneumonia, following two years of war in Gaza.

On the first day of the campaign it reached over 2,400 children with multiple vaccines.

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“The vaccination campaign has started, but we have two rounds to go, and for that we need more supplies,” Pires said.

UNICEF said more humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza but some critical items continued to be denied entry by Israeli authorities, including 938,000 bottles of ready-to-use infant formula and spare parts for water trucks.

“That’s nearly one million bottles that could be reaching children who have been suffering from different levels of malnutrition,” Pires told a news briefing in Geneva.

The October 10 truce was meant to unleash a massive surge of aid across the enclave, but relief agencies have repeatedly said not enough is getting in to meet the needs of a largely displaced and malnourished population of 2 million.