An initial batch of 1,000 coronavirus vaccine doses donated by Russia will enter Gaza on Wednesday, Israel's defence ministry told AFP, after it had blocked a shipment earlier this week.
The Israeli military branch responsible for civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories (COGAT) said that the Sputnik V doses were being "transferred from the Palestinian Authority (in the West Bank) to Gaza, following (Israeli) political approval".
It added that "the vaccine shipment is now making its way to the Erez crossing" that connects Israel to the blockaded Gaza Strip, an enclave which is controlled by the militant group Hamas.
Earlier, ‘Hamas’ and the ‘Islamic Jihad Movement’ hinted at potential escalation in case Israel didn't approve the entry of coronavirus vaccines to Gaza.
Hamas held Israel responsible for the consequences that might ensue from stopping the shipment.
Atef Adwan from Hamas described the blockage as racial discrimination against Palestinians.
He called on the Palestinian resistance to pressure the occupation for the sake of ensuring the entry of vaccines to the Gaza Strip.
Yusef al-Hasayna, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, commented on this saying that the fact that the occupation stopped the shipment reveals “the true, ugly, hideous face of Israel.”
He called the delay in allowing the vaccines to enter “a war crime about which the Palestinian people and its forces cannot remain silent.”
The international community is expected to deter the Israeli occupation and to stop its crimes against Palestinians, according to Hasayna, or else it would be an accomplice.
Palestinian Authority Health Minister Mai Alkaila said that the PA tried to send 2,000 doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine from the occupied West Bank to Gaza on Monday, but Israel stopped the shipment at a West Bank checkpoint “and informed the Palestinians there was no approval to continue to Gaza.”
“These doses were intended for medical staff working in intensive care rooms designated for COVID-19 patients, and for staff working in emergency departments,” Alkaila added.
The PA called on the WHO and other international organizations "to hold Israel fully responsible for the dangers arising from preventing the entry of vaccines into the Gaza Strip," according to Palestinian government spokesperson Ibrahim Melhem.
