UN officials hail limited pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow polio vaccinations

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — United Nations officials on Wednesday hailed limited pauses in the fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow children's polio vaccinations as rare moments of hope in the nearly yearlong war in Gaza.

Top U.N. officials on peacebuilding and humanitarian affairs spoke at a meeting requested by Israel, which was backed by its allies, veto-holding permanent council members France, Great Britain and the United States. Israel's ambassador on Wednesday focused on the hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that launched the war and the recent killing of six captives.

Algeria, which sits on the 15-member council until next year, also requested that the U.N. body meet to discuss the broader situation in the Palestinian territories.

Both Rosemary DiCarlo, U.N. undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs, and Edem Wosornu, director of the Operations and Advocacy Division at the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, spoke about the polio-inspired pauses in fighting as rare rays of hope, as did the representatives of France, Britain, the U.S. and other nations.