First 1,000 Covid-19 Vaccine Doses to Enter Gaza Wednesday

By Staff, Agencies

An initial batch of 1,000 coronavirus vaccine doses donated by Russia will enter Gaza on Wednesday, the Zionist war ministry told AFP, after it had blocked a shipment earlier this week.

The Sputnik V doses were "being transferred from the Palestinian Authority [in the West Bank] to the Gaza Strip in accordance with the PA's request.”

“The vaccine shipment is now making its way to the Erez crossing" that connects the ‘Israeli’-occupied territories to the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Both the PA and Hamas, which have said the doses will be given to frontline healthcare workers, had condemned the Zionist entity for refusing to allow the shipment to enter Gaza on Monday.

The PA called on the World Health Organization to condemn the ‘Israeli’ entity for the obstruction and urged it "to hold it fully responsible for the dangers arising from preventing the entry of vaccines into the Gaza Strip."

Relatively, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem blasted the Zionist blockage as a "violation of all international laws and humanitarian standards."

The PA is expecting some two million doses ordered from various manufacturers, in addition to vaccines from the UN-backed Covax program, set up to help less wealthy nations procure vaccines.

The PA has said it will share its procurement with Hamas.