4,500 amputations reported in Gaza since start of war: Health official

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 Jan 2025 09:50
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The head of the Health Information Unit at the Gaza Health Ministry warns that the number of amputations is expected to increase as the Israeli war on the strip continues.

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An amputee looks on as a new prosthetic limb is prepared at the Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on September 17, 2024 (AFP)

The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip has documented 4,500 cases of amputations, involving both upper and lower limbs, since the outset of the Israeli genocidal war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a senior health official in Gaza.

"We have recorded 4,500 amputation cases by the end of 2024, as a result of the continuous Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks on Gaza," Zaher al-Wahidi, the head of the Health Information Unit at the ministry, confirmed in a statement on Friday.

Al-Wahidi highlighted that approximately 800 of the amputees were children, representing 18% of the cases, while 540 were women, accounting for 12%.

He emphasized that these figures underscore the scale of the humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza's civilian population, particularly its most vulnerable groups—children and women.

The Palestinian health official warned that the number of amputations is expected to increase as the Israeli war on the strip continues, further straining an already overwhelmed healthcare system that faces severe shortages of medical supplies due to the blockade imposed for over 18 years.

Since the war began on October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation military has targeted healthcare facilities, bombed hospitals, forced evacuations, and obstructed the delivery of essential medical supplies, particularly in Gaza's northern regions.

Al-Wahidi called for urgent international intervention to address the escalating crisis, demanding immediate measures to halt Israeli violations and protect civilians.

In light of the rising number of child amputees, Lisa Doughten, a representative from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), pointed out in October that Gaza has become "home to the largest group of child amputees in modern history."

Gaza death toll likely 40% higher than reported: Lancet

A study released on Thursday suggests that the official count of Palestinians killed as a result of the Israeli war on Gaza may have missed as many as 41% of casualties through mid-2024 due to the collapse of Gaza's healthcare system.

Academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University, and other institutions conducted the peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal.

The researchers employed a statistical technique known as capture-recapture analysis to estimate the death toll from the Israeli aggression against Gaza during the first nine months of the war, spanning from October 2023 to the end of June 2024.

The researchers estimated that 64,260 people died from traumatic injuries during this period, which is approximately 41% higher than the official count from the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.

The study indicated that 59.1% of the victims were women, children, and individuals over 65, but it did not offer an estimate of the number of Palestinian combatants among the deceased.

More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.

The Lancet study noted that the Gaza Health Ministry's ability to maintain accurate electronic death records had previously been reliable but declined during the Israeli war. This decline was attributed to strikes on hospitals and other healthcare facilities, as well as disruptions to digital communication systems.

Reports also indicated that many bodies were buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, leading to their exclusion from certain casualty counts.

"Our research reveals a stark reality: the true scale of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza is higher than reported," lead author Zeina Jamaluddine told Reuters.