The UN is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza so it can launch a polio vaccination campaign following a confirmed case of the disease there.
The United Nations chief is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza so 640,000 children can be vaccinated against polio.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed on Friday, local time, it had detected polio in a 10-month-old baby in Deir al-Balah. The child had not received a polio vaccination dose.The death toll in Gaza from Israel's offensive has surpassed 40,000 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Mr Guterres said the UN was poised to launch a vaccination program for more than 640,000 children under the age of 10 in Gaza but he said the challenges it faced were "grave".Polio is caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the brain stem and spinal cord. In its most severe form, it causes paralysis, breathing trouble and death.
A senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they understood there was at least one confirmed case of polio and two suspected ones among Palestinians in the enclave, adding there might not be a single humanitarian pause but multiple shorter ones.
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