The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli war on October 7 has risen to 40,738 and those injured 94,154, confirmed the Gaza Health Ministry on Sunday.

In its daily report, the Ministry mentioned that Israeli occupation forces committed three massacres in Gaza, killing 47 people and injuring 94 others in 24 hours.

It also noted that many victims remain trapped under the rubble and on the streets, with ambulance and civil defense teams unable to reach them.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that one Palestinian was killed and several others were injured in Israeli artillery shelling east of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

He said on Saturday that Israeli artillery shelled the eastern part of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

He added that Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes on the eastern areas of Gaza City.

Our correspondent mentioned that an Israeli helicopter opened fire at the eastern areas of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

Two Palestinians were killed and several others were injured following an Israeli airstrike that targeted a group of civilians in the vicinity of the al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza City. 

In a related context, the Palestinian news agency WAFA cited local sources as saying that several were killed and others were injured on Saturday evening in Israeli airstrikes on the al-Tuffah neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

The sources reported that Israeli fighter jets bombarded a house in the neighborhood, causing multiple civilian casualties and injuries.

In addition, Israeli fighter jets targeted a residential complex near Al-Durra Hospital in the same neighborhood, while other airstrikes and artillery shelling hit various areas in Gaza City and the region east of Jabalia refugee camp.

Related News

Arab-Islamic committee denounces Gaza City occupation, urges ceasefire

Paris exhibition showcases 5,000 years of Gaza history, rare artifacts

Polio vaccine campaign for children starts in Gaza

It is noteworthy that the Israeli bombing comes in parallel with a campaign to vaccinate children in Gaza against polio and curb the spread of the virus.

Gaza's Health Ministry announced at a news conference on Saturday that children in the Strip had begun receiving vaccines, just one day before the large-scale rollout and a planned temporary pause in hostilities agreed upon by "Israel" and the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

Children in #Gaza have started receiving polio vaccines this morning. This is today in Nuseirat.

The vaccination campaign has begun in the Gaza middle area, where over 200 of our teams are administrating vaccines in 28 @UNRWA health facilities and going tent to tent#UNRWAworks pic.twitter.com/xkZtVxDOCJ

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 1, 2024

An unspecified number of children received their first dose of the vaccine at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The vaccination, which consists of two oral doses, will be administered across the Strip.

Following its start in central Gaza, the campaign will extend to southern and northern Gaza to vaccinate over 640,000 children under the age of 10, according to health officials.

WHO Deputy Director-General Michael Ryan informed the UN Security Council this week that 1.26 million doses of the oral vaccine had been delivered to Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses expected to arrive shortly.

While the Israeli occupation authorities indicated that vaccines would be given daily from 6:00 am (0300 GMT) until 2:00 pm for three days in central Gaza, three days in southern Gaza, and three days in northern Gaza, the Gaza Health Ministry distributed a different schedule, with the vaccine program lasting four days in each location.

The Ministry identified 67 vaccination centers -- mostly hospitals, smaller health centers, and schools -- in central Gaza, 59 in southern Gaza, and 33 in northern Gaza.

The Gaza Government Media Office underlined on Saturday that the vaccination campaign required an "immediate ceasefire".

But Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said measures to facilitate polio vaccination in Gaza are "not a ceasefire."

Officials indicated that the pause, expected to last at least nine hours, is a result of an agreement with the WHO and is not related to ongoing ceasefire negotiations between "Israel", Hamas, and regional mediators.

This vaccination campaign follows the recent discovery of the first polio case in 25 years, involving a 10-month-old child who was partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not receiving the vaccine due to the ongoing war.