Polio vaccination coverage in Gaza has reached 90 per cent, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency has said, adding that the next step was to ensure hundreds of thousands of children got a second dose at the end of the month, Reuters reports.

The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza under 10 years of age against polio, which began on September 1, presented major challenges to UNRWA and its partners due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza ended successfully, UNRWA’s chief Philippe Lazzarini said, adding that 90pc of the enclave’s children had received a first dose.

“Parties to the conflict have largely respected the different required ‘humanitarian pauses’ showing that when there is a political will, assistance can be provided without disruption. Our next challenge is to provide children with their second dose at the end of September,” he wrote on X.