The Palestinians say Israel struck a clinic in Gaza during a polio campaign. The army denies it

CAIRO (AP) – Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike on a clinic in northern Gaza where children are being vaccinated against polio has injured six people, including four children. The Israeli military has denied responsibility.

The strike is believed to have taken place on Saturday in northern Gaza, which has been surrounded by Israeli forces and has been largely isolated for the past year. Israel has been carrying out other attacks there in recent weeks that have killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands.

Could not resolve conflicting accounts. The Israeli army has repeatedly attacked hospitals in Gaza during the war, saying that Hamas is using them for military purposes, allegations denied by Palestinian health officials.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, the director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told the Associated Press that a quadcopter hit the Sheikh Radwan clinic in Gaza City the following Saturday afternoon, a few minutes after the United Nations team left the facility.

The World Health Organization and the UN children's rights group, UNICEF, who are running the polio vaccination campaign, have expressed concern over the reported strike.

“The reports of this attack are very worrying as the Sheikh Radwan Clinic is one of the health points where parents can vaccinate their children,” said Rosalia Bollen, spokesperson for UNICEF.

“Today's attack took place during the curfew, despite assurances that the curfew will be respected from 6 am to 4 pm”

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said that “contrary to what was said, the initial review determined that (the Israeli army) did not strike the area at the appointed time.”

A scaled-down campaign to administer a second dose of polio vaccine began on Saturday in the northern parts of Gaza. It has been postponed since October 23 due to inaccessibility, Israeli bombardment and mass evacuation orders, as well as the lack of assurances of a temporary suspension, the UN statement said.

The first dose control was carried out in September across the entire Gaza Strip, including the now completely closed areas of northern Gaza. Health officials said the first round of the campaign, as well as the administration of the second dose in central and southern Gaza, was a success.

At least 100,000 people have been forced to leave northern Gaza for Gaza City in the past few weeks, but about 15,000 children under the age of ten live in northern towns, including Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which are inaccessible, according to the UN.

The last phase of the polio vaccination campaign aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children in the north with a second dose of oral polio vaccine, the organizations said, but “achieving this target is now unlikely due to access issues.”

They say 90% of children in all communities must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease.

The campaign was launched after the first case of polio was reported in Gaza in 25 years – a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in his leg. The World Health Organization said that the presence of a case of disability shows that there may be hundreds of others who have been infected with the virus but are not showing symptoms.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led forces invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and abducting 250 others. Israel's offensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza, noting how many were soldiers but saying more than half were women and children.

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