Humanitarian pauses in Gaza pave way for polio vaccinations

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that 161,030 children under 10 have been vaccinated in central Gaza during the first two days of the UN-led mass vaccination campaign, surpassing the initial target of 156,000. The figure amounts to around a quarter of the total population they aim to reach - some 640,000 children.

The UN Security Council is due to meet at 3pm local time in New York on the continuing crisis in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Just ahead of the meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) said agreement had been reached with Israel to allow a mass polio vaccination campaign to get underway through a series of humanitarian pauses to begin on Sunday. For UN New app users, follow live here.

The head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declared that the multi-country outbreak of the mpox virus which began around a year ago was no longer a public health emergency of international concern.