WHO: Second polio vaccination round progressing in Gaza Strip

More than 92,000 children in the Gaza Strip have received their second dose of polio vaccine since a new round of vaccinations began on Monday, the World Health Organization reported in Geneva on Tuesday.

Israel has agreed to pauses in the fighting to facilitate the vaccination campaign, as it did during the first round in September, launched after the first polio case in 25 years was detected in Gaza.

The WHO is currently working with partner organizations in the centre of the embattled coastal area to administer the new doses.

The vaccination teams will then move to the south before going on to the north to vaccinate a total of more than 590,000 children under the age of 10 in the second and final round. The children should then have complete protection against the disease.

Polio tends to spread where many people are living together under poor conditions of hygiene.

Israel's year-long offensive against Hamas militants has laid waste to vast areas of Gaza and left much of the health infrastructure in ruins.

Hundreds of thousands of people have sought refuge in tented encampments and emergency accommodation.

The first case of polio in 25 years was recorded in the Gaza Strip in the summer. The disease can cause permanent paralysis and even death.