Thousands of Palestinians, including children, who have been left limbless due to the ongoing Israeli genocide, endure excruciating suffering compounded by the scarcity of emergency medical services in Gaza amid the total Israeli blockade, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Amid the dire humanitarian crisis, amputees face a struggle for survival and access to treatment from the dwindling number of functioning hospitals.
 
If amputees manage to survive their injuries and aggression, their struggles are far from over. Many will encounter increased obstacles in securing employment and providing for their families. Child amputees face heightened risks of abandoning prosthetics, which are often more expensive and potentially painful if not properly fitted. Additionally, lost limbs may hinder children from attending school, triggering a cascade of consequences that could impact them for years to come.

Due to the Israeli airstrikes on #Gaza, thousands of Palestinian children have had to undergo amputation surgeries; hundreds were reported to have had these surgeries without anesthesia amid the brutal Israeli siege on the Strip.

Hospitals in Gaza are struggling to accommodate… pic.twitter.com/cFLWyZIMbJ

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 30, 2023

Emily Mayhew, a military medical historian at Imperial College London, said, as quoted by The Wall Street Journal, that in many past modern wars, including both world wars, starvation has been the primary concern for children. However, in Gaza, while malnutrition remains an issue for children, the larger scale of injuries resulting from explosions presents a significant and enduring challenge.
 
 “It’s a generation that will have really complex needs for the rest of their lives,” she said.

Israeli attacks leave Gaza hospitals depleted

Hospitals are facing critical shortages of staff and supplies in Gaza, exacerbating the challenges posed by the aftermath of the genocide.

According to estimates from the Palestine Red Crescent Society in December, approximately 12,000 individuals, including 5,000 children, suffered the loss of one or more limbs due to the Israeli aggression.

Amputating children's legs without anesthesia.
And we talk about how we talk about this in the west. FFS.
Every single day is a heartbreaking day in this appalling, relentless, enormous attack on Gaza.
And there is no end in sight.
Therefor#BDS #BDSnow #BDS4Israel #BDSMovement https://t.co/2ZgKoLUBqY

— oliver moore (@oliver_moore) December 12, 2023

However, updating these figures has been difficult due to communication disruptions in Gaza, and most hospitals are no longer operational.

The Israeli airstrikes have left buildings in ruins, resulting in numerous crush injuries, broken bones, and amputations.

Medical professionals highlight the complexities of treating such injuries, often likening them to those seen in earthquake disasters in Turkey and Syria. The lack of adequate medical resources has further compounded the severity of injuries, with shortages of antibiotics leading to deadly infections and a scarcity of surgical teams hindering proper reconstruction of limbs, the report stressed.

Currently, only a few hospitals in Gaza are partially operational, while many others remain closed, according to the World Health Organization. In functioning hospitals, medical staff are overwhelmed, leading to instances where patients undergo more extensive amputations than necessary in efforts to save lives. 

Two girls, aged 6 and 9, lost one leg each

Mohammed Obaid, a limb reconstruction surgeon at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, has conducted 35 amputations during the ongoing aggression, WSJ reported.

Most of these cases involved limbs that had been completely severed by Israeli airstrikes. In six instances, the operations were necessary because the limbs couldn't be saved due to shortages of medical supplies, antibiotics, and skilled personnel amid the relentless Israeli airstrikes and raids on hospitals. No vascular surgeons remain in northern Gaza to handle complex procedures involving damaged blood vessels. On this note, it is worth mentioning that just this morning Israeli occupation forces raided Al-Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City and imposed a tight siege on it amid Israeli shelling and drone missiles.

Among Obaid's patients were two sisters aged 6 and 9, who sustained leg fractures exposing their bones in an Israeli airstrike at their home. Due to relentless Israeli bombings, they couldn't reach Al-Awda Hospital until a week later, by which time their wounds had become infected. Despite Obaid's efforts to disinfect their injuries daily for a week, their body temperatures began to rise, indicating a risk of septic shock. However, lacking the necessary antibiotics and access to a bone biopsy lab, he couldn't determine the exact cause of the infection.

Ultimately, both girls had to undergo leg amputations, as per the report.

“We told the father if we don’t take the legs off, the legs will take the lives of your daughters,” he said, as quoted by WSJ. “For that, he agreed to the amputation.”

'My niece; I am amputating her leg without anesthesia' 

Palestinians have faced horrific challenges reaching hospitals due to ongoing Israeli aggression. In January, a video circulated widely on social media depicting surgeon Hani Bseiso washing his 17-year-old niece's severed leg in their Gaza City kitchen.

With Israeli airstrikes continuing, Bseiso deemed it too risky to take his niece to the hospital. Despite her pleas, he proceeded to cut through her leg with a kitchen knife and medical scissors, searching for the bleeding artery.

“My daughter; I am amputating her leg without anaesthesia.”

A Palestinian doctor named Hani Bseiso was forced to amputate the leg of his 16-year-old daughter Ahed on the family's kitchen table — without anaesthesia, due to Israel's blockade — after she was severely injured by an… pic.twitter.com/gTz6kx2YUU

— TRT World (@trtworld) January 17, 2024

After locating it, he tied a cotton thread around it. It took them five days to reach the nearby Al-Shifa Hospital, during which Bseiso provided his niece with antibiotics and painkillers from his own supply.

“It was very shocking and surprising she endured all of this,” said the uncle. 

Read next: Over 1,000 children in Gaza have had one or two legs amputated: UNICEF