JERUSALEM: Israel’s health ministry has authorized a COVID-19 vaccine developed by US drugmaker Moderna, the company and an Israeli official said, marking the vaccine’s third regulatory authorization and the first outside North America.
“Ministry of Health of Israel has secured 6 million doses and first deliveries (are) expected to begin in January,” Moderna said in a statement on Monday.
Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said he had no knowledge of shipments arriving this month.
“To my regret, we will likely only see the company’s shipment in two months,” Edelstein told reporters. “As soon as the vaccines arrive we will use them happily and if the company wants to move the arrival forward we will be happy to receive notification.”
The director-general of Israel’s health ministry, Hezi Levy, confirmed the import agreement. Interviewed by radio station 103FM, he declined to give details of the size of the shipment and said the date of its arrival was under discussion.
Moderna has received authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and Canada and additional authorizations are under review in the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland and Britain.
Israel has begun to vaccinate its population at one of the quickest rates in the world, and it aims to reach all vulnerable citizens by late January. Authorities started vaccinations on Dec. 19 using the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Israel has also imposed a third national lockdown to fight climbing infection rates. Edelstein called for an immediate tightening of restrictions, with any final decision pending a cabinet meeting due later on Tuesday.
The Bank of Israel said on Monday it expected the economy to rebound quickly in 2021 if the fast start to vaccinating people against COVID-19 was maintained.
Israel, which has a population of about 9 million, has reported more than 450,000 COVID-19 cases and 3,448 deaths from the disease.
Israel authorizes use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
https://arab.news/7jmh2
Israel authorizes use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
- Israel has begun to vaccinate its population at one of the quickest rates in the world
- Israel has imposed a third national lockdown to fight climbing infection rates
Elderly Palestinian shot dead in Rafah
- Death toll from Israel’s aggression on Gaza rises to 71,795 since start of assault in October 2023
GAZA: An elderly Palestinian man was killed by Israeli fire in Rafah on Sunday afternoon, bringing the number of fatalities since morning to two, according to local and medical sources.
The sources reported that Khaled Hammad Dahleez, 63, was shot dead by an Israeli drone northwest of Rafah.
Earlier in the day, another man was killed and several others injured in a drone strike north of Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, the Palestinian News Agency reported.
BACKGROUND
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
On Saturday, at least 31 Palestinians, including children and women, were slaughtered in a series of Israeli airstrikes on several locations across the war-ravaged enclave — one of the deadliest days since the start of the ceasefire agreement on Oct. 11, 2025.
Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, the number of people killed has risen to 523, with 1,433 injuries recorded, while 715 bodies have been recovered during the same period.
Medical sources said on Sunday the death toll from Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 71,795 Palestinians killed and 171,551 injured since the start of the assault in October 2023.
The sources reported that 26 fatalities and 68 injuries were brought to Gaza hospitals over the past 48 hours, noting that numerous victims were trapped under rubble or in the streets, with ambulance and rescue crews unable to reach them.
The ceasefire’s first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, a surge in humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.
The second phase is more complicated. It calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and taking steps to begin rebuilding.
Hamas has so far rejected disarmament and Israel has repeatedly indicated that if the Islamist militant group is not disarmed peacefully, it will use force to make it do so.
