Gaza, Gaza Strip.– Hours before families in Gaza lined up Thursday to begin the second phase of an emergency polio vaccination drive, a deadly Israeli airstrike struck near a hospital in an area where a previous round of inoculations had just concluded.
Health officials have touted the vaccination program, which began Sunday and was carried out under a deal between Israel and Hamas to allow for brief pauses in hostilities, as an unexpected success.
The World Health Organization said the first phase, in the central Gaza Strip, ended on Wednesday and the second, in southern Gaza, began on Thursday.
The limited nature of those pauses, however, was highlighted by the overnight attack, which killed four people and wounded others, including women and children, according to Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency.
Witnesses said it happened in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, where displaced civilians were sheltering.
The Israeli military confirmed the attack, which it said was carried out by attack helicopters, but did not give the number of deaths or the proximity of the hospital.
He said he attacked the Hamas command center to “eliminate an immediate threat” that was “embedded” inside a humanitarian area in Deir Al-Balah.
“Numerous measures have been taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance,” the statement said, echoing words often used by the military after airstrikes in Gaza.
The charity Doctors Without Borders said it was the fifth time since March that the hospital or its surroundings had been attacked.
Intermediaries from the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar have tried for months to reach an agreement on a lasting cease-fire, but talks have stalled over multiple disagreements between Israel and Hamas.
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