The first phase of a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in Gaza has concluded successfully, the World Health Organisation said, providing nearly 200,000 children in the centre of the Palestinian territory with their initial dose.

During the first phase of the campaign, conducted between September 1 and 3 in central Gaza, more than 187,000 children under the age of 10 were reached, the WHO said in a statement according to AFP.

“We are grateful for the dedication of all the families, health workers and vaccinators who made this part of the campaign a success despite the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter.

“We ask for the humanitarian pauses to continue to be respected. We continue to call for a ceasefire.”