GENEVA: Nearly 42,000 people have suffered life-changing injuries including amputations in Israel’s war in Gaza according to the World Health Organization.
A quarter of those injured are children according to a fresh analysis from the United Nations’ health agency.
WHO representative Richard Peeperkorn confirmed that life-long rehabilitation will be required for these individuals.
The conflict began with Hamas’s deadly attack inside Israel on October 7 2023 prompting Israeli retaliatory measures.
Health ministry figures from Hamas-run Gaza indicate more than 66,000 Palestinian deaths since the war started.
Nearly 170,000 additional people have been injured according to the same source considered reliable by the UN.
The report estimated 41,844 people suffered life-changing injuries using data from 22 WHO-supported Emergency Medical Teams.
More than 5,000 people faced amputations though this number could be undercounted according to the analysis.
Report author Pete Skelton noted that children appear disproportionately vulnerable to amputations.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus identified blast injuries to legs and arms as the most common rehabilitation needs.
Other life-altering injuries include spinal cord injury traumatic brain injury and major burn injuries.
Severe facial and eye injuries resulting in significant impairment and disfigurement are also common.
The WHO stressed the dire need for rehabilitation services throughout Gaza.
Tedros warned that attacks insecurity and displacement have put these services out of reach when most needed.
Health facilities and services needed to treat injuries are often destroyed by the same explosions that cause them.
The WHO chief cautioned that Gaza’s health system teeters on the brink of collapse as new injuries mount.
Only 14 of Gaza’s original 36 hospitals remain even partially functional according to the assessment.
Gaza once had around 1,300 physiotherapists and 400 occupational therapists before the conflict.
Many healthcare professionals have been displaced and dozens have been killed during the war.
Despite the huge number of amputations Gaza currently has only eight prosthetists to manufacture and fit artificial limbs. – AFP