Palestinians claim Israel struck a clinic in Gaza during a campaign against polio. The army denies this

CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian officials say an Israeli drone struck a clinic in the northern Gaza Strip where children live were vaccinated against polio Six people were injured, including four children. The Israeli military denies responsibility.

The suspected attack took place on Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip. surrounded by Israeli troops and have been largely isolated for the past year. Israel carries out another offensive there, hundreds of people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced in recent weeks.

The conflicting accounts could not be resolved. Israeli forces repeatedly raided hospitals in the Gaza Strip during the war, saying Hamas was using them for military purposes, a charge Palestinian health officials deny.

Dr. Mounir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s health ministry, told The Associated Press that a quadcopter crashed into the Sheikh Radwan clinic in Gaza City early Saturday, just minutes after the United Nations delegation left the facility.

The World Health Organization and the U.N. children’s agency known as UNICEF, which are jointly leading a polio vaccination campaign, expressed concern over the reported strike.

“Reports of this attack are even more alarming because Sheikh Radwan’s clinic is one of the health centers where parents can vaccinate their children,” said Rosalie Bollen, a UNICEF spokeswoman.

“Today’s attack occurred while the humanitarian pause was still in effect, despite assurances that the pause would be observed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.”

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli army spokesman, said that “contrary to allegations, initial verification showed that (the Israeli military) did not carry out strikes in the area at the time indicated.”

A campaign to scale back the second dose of polio vaccine began on Saturday in parts of the northern Gaza Strip. The U.N. statement said it was delayed from Oct. 23 due to lack of access, Israeli bombing and mass evacuation orders, and a lack of guarantees for humanitarian pauses.

The first dose was administered in September throughout the Gaza Strip, including areas of the northern Gaza Strip that are now completely isolated. Health officials said the first round of the campaign and the administration of the second dose in central and southern Gaza were successful.

At least 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate areas of northern Gaza towards Gaza City over the past few weeks, but about 15,000 children under the age of 10 remain in northern towns including Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which not available. according to the UN

The final phase of the polio vaccination campaign aimed to reach about 119,000 children in the north with a second dose of oral polio vaccine, the agencies said, but “achieving this goal is now unlikely due to access restrictions.”

They say 90% of children in every community should be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease.

The campaign was launched after first case of polio reported in the Gaza Strip for 25 years – A 10-month-old boy whose leg is now paralyzed. The World Health Organization said the presence of the paralysis case indicates there may be hundreds more people infected but not showing symptoms.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants swept into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping another 250. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. say how many of them were combatants, but say that more than half were women and children.

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