A thousand Palestinians could be immunized.

A first batch of anti-Covid-19 vaccines arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday February 17, Palestinian and Israeli authorities said.

The end of a standoff over these doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine after their transfer by Israel was blocked earlier this week.

"Two thousand doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik have arrived (in Gaza) from the health ministry in Ramallah," the authorities of Hamas, the Islamist movement in power in the Palestinian enclave under Israeli blockade, said in a statement.

"They are being transported to storage spaces" in Gaza City, Hamas continued.

Each Russian Sputnik V vaccine contains two doses of the product.

According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, in the West Bank - Palestinian territory separated from Gaza by Israel - these doses are intended for Gazan medical personnel.

The Cogat, the Israeli body in charge of civilian operations in the Palestinian Territories, confirmed to AFP this transfer "via the Kerem Shalom crossing point", which separates Israeli territory from the enclave.

The transfer took place at the request of the Palestinian Authority and with "the approval of the (Israeli) political level", according to Cogat.

Decrease in hospitalizations in Gaza

On Monday, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank accused Israel of refusing the entry of thousands of Covid-19 vaccines into Gaza, an enclave of two million inhabitants.

Cogat said for its part that the Palestinian request for entry of vaccines was "under examination and awaits a political decision."

Hamas had denounced Tuesday a "crime" in "violation" of international law.

In Gaza, more than 53,800 infections have been recorded since the start of the pandemic, including 538 deaths, but medical sources have reported a decrease in hospitalizations in recent weeks.

In the West Bank, the Ministry of Health has officially recorded more than 116,600 cases, including more than 1,400 deaths.

Access to the vaccine thanks to "Covax"

The Palestinian Authority launched vaccination in the West Bank to its medical staff in early February after receiving 2,000 doses from the Jewish state.

She also received 10,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and had indicated her intention to share some of it with Palestinians in Gaza.

She was to receive in mid-February at least 50,000 other doses of various vaccines thanks to the "Covax" device to help the poorest countries, set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Alliance for vaccines.

With AFP

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