GAZA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V will arrive in the besieged Gaza Strip on Feb. 14, according to a local health official on Monday.

An illustration picture shows a syringe with the webpage of Russia's Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac) vaccine against the coronavirus disease in the background on February 4, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

Majdi Dheir, head of the preventive medicine department under the Hamas-run health ministry, told reporters that the ministry in Gaza is waiting to receive the Russian vaccines from the West Bank.

"According to the schedule, vaccination procedures will be carried out in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip at the same rates," Dheir said.

"What has currently arrived in Palestine is the Russian vaccine, while successive shipments of vaccines produced by other countries will arrive within the coming days," he said.

"The vaccine will be for free. We will not force anyone to be vaccinated, and we are working to limit the spread of the coronavirus through vaccination," he added.

On Monday, Palestine reported 612 new cases infected with the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total number to 183,977 in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip since last March. In addition, seven fatalities from the new virus were recorded in the Palestinian territories, raising the total number of deaths to 2,079.

In the Gaza Strip alone so far, 52,599 cases have been recorded and 529 people have died from the pandemic.