The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has accused Israel of blocking the entry of essential humanitarian items desperately needed to save the lives of Gaza’s children, including 1.6 million vaccination syringes and nearly one million bottles of infant formula.

Despite a fragile ceasefire, UNICEF said it is being denied permission to bring in critical medical supplies to support a large-scale child immunization campaign aimed at protecting tens of thousands of Palestinian children from preventable diseases. The agency warned that Israel’s obstruction is endangering the lives of Gaza’s youngest and most vulnerable.

“These items are urgently needed,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva. “Both the syringes and the refrigerators to store vaccines are being classified as ‘dual-use’ by Israel, and we’re finding it almost impossible to get them cleared for entry.”

Israel continues to label a wide range of basic humanitarian goods — from medical syringes to water pumps — as “dual-use” items, claiming they could have potential military applications. Aid groups have long argued that this classification serves as a political tool to maintain the siege and collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population.

COGAT, the Israeli military body that controls Gaza’s borders, denied blocking humanitarian supplies but admitted that it “exercises caution” to prevent alleged misuse. It claimed to provide “alternative solutions” to aid groups — though it offered no details and aid agencies say such promises rarely materialize.

In practice, the blockade has crippled Gaza’s health system and paralyzed humanitarian operations. Even as hundreds of aid trucks enter through controlled crossings, U.N. officials say the supplies are a fraction of what is needed to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2 million people, most of whom have been displaced, malnourished, and traumatized by the two-year Israeli assault.

Despite the shortages, UNICEF began the first phase of its emergency “catch-up” vaccination campaign on Sunday, targeting more than 40,000 Palestinian children under the age of three who have missed crucial vaccines for polio, measles, and pneumonia due to the war and blockade.

On the first day, the agency managed to reach around 2,400 children, but the next rounds remain in jeopardy. “We have two more rounds to go,” Pires said, “and for that, we need these supplies now.”

UNICEF’s campaign has been described as a race against time, as Gaza’s hospitals struggle with a shortage of electricity, medical personnel, and essential medicines under Israel’s blockade.

UNICEF also revealed that Israel has denied entry to 938,000 bottles of ready-to-use infant formula and spare parts for water trucks, both of which are critical for the survival of malnourished and displaced infants.

“That’s nearly one million bottles that could be reaching children who have been suffering from different levels of malnutrition,” Pires said. “Every delay costs lives.”

The infant formula shortage has forced many mothers in Gaza — especially those suffering from severe malnutrition themselves — to rely on unsafe water to prepare formula, increasing the risk of disease and infant mortality.

The October 10 truce was supposed to allow a major flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip, but relief agencies say Israeli restrictions continue to suffocate Gaza’s recovery. Instead of relief, Palestinians have seen the continuation of collective punishment through the denial of essential items needed for survival.

UNICEF officials stressed that while aid convoys have slightly increased, the most critical materials for children — vaccines, medical equipment, water infrastructure, and infant nutrition — remain deliberately blocked under Israeli military control.

“The world must understand that this is not a logistics issue,” one humanitarian coordinator in Gaza said. “It is a deliberate policy of deprivation — a continuation of the siege by other means.”

For UNICEF and other U.N. agencies, Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid violates international law and the fundamental rights of Palestinian children to health, food, and survival.

“Every day these supplies are held back,” Pires warned, “is another day that children in Gaza suffer needlessly — not because of lack of resources, but because of man-made barriers.” (ILKHA)