A ten-month-old baby has been diagnosed with polio in Gaza, according to Palestinian health authorities.
This is the first confirmed polio case in the Gaza Strip after recent warnings of an outbreak in the wake of the war.
Gaza has been polio-free for 25 years, according to the UN – which earlier on Friday appealed for a week-long ceasefire in Gaza to prevent the spread.
UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) want to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of ten in two rounds at the end of August and September, the two UN agencies announced jointly.
"WHO and UNICEF urge all parties to the conflict to implement humanitarian pauses in the Gaza Strip for seven days to enable two rounds of vaccination efforts," reads a press release.
The poliovirus was detected in tests on sewage water in the Gaza cities of Khan Yunis and Dayr al-Balah in July. Three children have previously fallen ill with symptoms common to polio.
