Humanitarian pauses have been agreed upon to allow for a second round of polio vaccinations targeting 590,000 children under the age of 10 to start in the Gaza Strip on October 14, the head of the UN children's agency UNICEF said on Thursday.

"Area-specific humanitarian pauses have been agreed. It is critical that these pauses are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate the children," UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.