Unicef says Israel blocking one million syringes needed to vaccinate Gaza children
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Unicef said syringes for a children’s vaccination campaign have been awaiting Customs clearance to enter Gaza since August 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Unicef reports Israel denies entry of essential aid to Gaza, including syringes and baby formula, hindering vital vaccination and nutrition efforts for children.
- Israel deems some items "dual-use," raising concerns about Hamas exploiting aid, but claims it doesn't block syringes or refrigeration equipment, while offering "alternative solutions."
- Despite increased aid flow, Unicef faces shortages, needing supplies for vaccination campaigns targeting 40,000 children and infant formula for malnourished children.
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GENEVA – Unicef said on Nov 11 that essential items, including syringes to vaccinate children and bottles for baby formula, are being denied entry into Gaza by Israel, preventing aid agencies from reaching those in need in the war-devastated territory.
As Unicef undertakes a mass children’s vaccination campaign with a fragile ceasefire
The syringes have awaited Customs clearance since August, Unicef said.
“Both the syringes and the... refrigerators are considered dual-use by Israel and these items we’re finding very hard to get them through clearances and inspections, yet they are urgent,” Unicef spokesman Ricardo Pires said.
“Dual-use” refers to items Israel considers as having possible military as well as civilian applications.
Cogat, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, said Israel does not prevent the entry of syringes or refrigeration-related equipment.
In relation to dual-use items, it said that it exercises particular caution to ensure Hamas does not “cynically exploit the aid for its own military build-up.”
It said it offers international organisations “alternative solutions” for the entry of the required aid, but did not provide further detail.
Hundreds of trucks carrying food, water, fuel, gas, medicines, medical equipment, tents and shelter supplies enter the Gaza Strip every day, Cogat said, in close coordination with the UN.
Unicef launched the first of three rounds of catch-up immunisations on Nov 9 to reach more than 40,000 children under three who missed routine vaccines against polio, measles and pneumonia, following two years of war in Gaza.
On the first day of the campaign, it reached more than 2,400 children with multiple vaccines.
“The vaccination campaign has started, but we have two rounds to go, and for that we need more supplies,” Mr Pires said.
Unicef said more humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza, but some critical items continued to be denied entry by Israeli authorities, including 938,000 bottles of ready-to-use infant formula and spare parts for water trucks.
“That’s nearly one million bottles that could be reaching children who have been suffering from different levels of malnutrition,” Mr Pires told a news briefing in Geneva.
The Oct 10 truce was meant to unleash a massive surge of aid across the enclave, but relief agencies have repeatedly said not enough is getting in to meet the needs of a largely displaced and malnourished population of two million. REUTERS
