Editorial: Vaccination pauses in fighting in Gaza should lead to ceasefire

IT can hardly be said that the residents of the Palestinian territory of Gaza have got out of a crisis through pauses in fighting that are limited in time and location.

But can’t pauses in fighting for vaccinations be linked to a full-fledged ceasefire? The countries concerned must persistently appeal to Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.

A case of polio has been confirmed in Gaza, and a vaccination campaign for children under 10 years old has begun. This was made possible after both Israel and Hamas accepted an eight-hour suspension of fighting starting at 6am on the days the vaccinations were to be administered.

Vaccinations were expected to take place in central Gaza from Sept 1 to Sept 4 before they are carried out in the south and north of the territory. The total number of people eligible for the vaccinations in all of Gaza amounts to about 640,000.

Polio is a disease to which babies and infants are especially susceptible, and the vaccines are effective in preventing the malady. A second dose is required four weeks after the first dose.

Internationally, polio is said to be almost contained, but it was detected in Gaza for the first time in 25 years.

Since Israel started its offensives against Gaza in response to Hamas’ cross-border attacks in October last year, Gaza residents have been forced to evacuate many times. Water and sewage systems have been destroyed, and towns have been flooded with garbage.

Many believe that living in poor sanitary conditions for a long period of time has led to the emergence of the polio virus.

Israel agreed to the pauses in fighting, probably out of a sense of urgency that a polio outbreak in neighbouring Gaza could spread to its own country. Israel has continued to attack areas where vaccinations have not been carried out, and an airstrike on a school in northern Gaza has resulted in deaths.

Israel’s military operations exceed the scope of its self-defence. It is no wonder that the attacks, which have involved innocent people, have been criticised by some countries as “genocide”.

At the end of August, six people, including Israelis who had been taken hostage by Hamas, were found dead in Gaza. The killing of hostages is outrageous.

In Israel, criticism naturally grew against the actions of Hamas, but voices were also raised accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of failing to rescue the hostages, and mass demonstrations took place in various parts of the country.

It seems that the Israeli public is beginning to suspect that the rescue of hostages is a pretext, and that Netanyahu’s real goal is to continue the fighting.

Britain has decided to suspend some arms exports to Israel, citing fears that its own weapons could be used in violation of international humanitarian law. Such efforts should be expanded to other countries, including the United States, to achieve a ceasefire. – The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network