GAZA: Gaza's health ministry said on Wednesday it had exhausted its supply of children's vaccines and warned of "catastrophic health repercussions".
The announcement came more than two months into the Israeli war in Gaza as international aid organisations have warned about the dire conditions in the crowded Palestinian territory.
The ministry did not specify which vaccinations had run out, and its claim could not be independently verified.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories, Lynn Hastings, said that UNICEF was looking into the issue.
"Vaccinations are one of the priority items that we are trying to bring in to ensure that we are able to continue with the vaccine campaign," Hastings told journalists at an online briefing without elaborating.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, warned on Sunday that "Gaza's health system is on its knees and collapsing," with 14 of 36 hospitals only partially functioning and supplies running low.
"The risk is expected to worsen with the deteriorating situation and approaching winter conditions," he said.
The Gaza health ministry called on international institutions to deliver urgently needed vaccines "to prevent disaster".
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned on Wednesday that the people of Gaza were "running out of time and options" as Israel's war against Hamas grinds on.
"They face bombardment, deprivation and disease in an ever shrinking space," Philippe Lazzarini told the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, adding that Gazans were "facing the darkest chapter of their history since 1948, and it has been a painful history".
The health ministry in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday said the death toll from the war in the Palestinian territory had risen to at least 18,608.
Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said 50,594 people have been wounded in the conflict. — AFP
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