Every day, Gaza’s children face irreparable physical and mental harm, with a generation left disabled and traumatized by war.
Israel’s use of explosive weapons in the Gaza Strip has condemned an average of 475 children each month – or 15 children a day – to potentially lifelong disabilities, including severely injured limbs and hearing impairments, according to Save the Children.
The estimated figure for 2024 comes from Save the Children’s analysis of a report by the Gaza Protection Cluster, a group of humanitarian organizations that includes Save the Children, the organization said in a statement on Tuesday.
GAZA: EXPLOSIVE WEAPONS LEFT 15 CHILDREN A DAY WITH POTENTIALLY LIFELONG DISABILITIES IN 2024 https://t.co/hdv3ZUIULj
— Ghassan Abu Sitta (@GhassanAbuSitt1) January 14, 2025
It showed that in the first 11 months of 2024, “at least 5,230 children sustained injuries requiring significant rehabilitation support that is inaccessible due to attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers by Israeli forces and restrictions on entry of critical supplies, leaving them with a high likelihood of disability.”
‘Wounds Not Healing’
Dr. Ana Jeelani, an orthopedic surgeon with Save the Children’s partner organization Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), explained that “When you treat children with injuries, they have growing bones, so if you have an injury to the growing part of your bone, then that part will stop growing.”
The surgeon stressed that wounds are not healing due to increased levels of malnutrition – “we’re basically trying to stitch back wounds that won’t heal.”
The use of explosive weapons in Gaza during 2024 resulted in an average of 475 children per month—or 15 children daily—suffering potentially lifelong disabilities, such as severe limb injuries and hearing loss, according to Save the Children.
This estimate, based on an analysis… pic.twitter.com/3ZDNqlSAGJ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 15, 2025
“Children are heading to amputations because bones are not healing, limbs fixed but not functional because of the gravity of the situation,” she emphasized.
Psychological Injuries
Save the Children said their estimates are likely low and may not capture all children left with hearing or visual impairments due to war-related injuries.
“They also do not capture children suffering potentially lifelong psychological injuries as a result of traumatic incidents they have witnessed or experienced during the war,” the organization said.
‘Harrowing Picture’ – Study Finds 96% of Gaza Children Feel ‘Death is Imminent’
These injuries – which include loss of limbs, sight and hearing – have been worsened due to the decimation of the health system and destruction of health facilities in Gaza. In addition, the restricted flow and low availability of medicines, have made treatment, therapeutic or rehabilitative care inside Gaza “near impossible.”
‘Gaza Redefining War Injuries’
Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a surgeon with expertise in treating blast injuries in children who spent 45 days in Gaza between October to November 2023 operating at Al Ahli hospital, said: “Gaza is redefining war injuries. I saw many babies who suffered amputations before learning to walk, which will affect their development as their brain hasn’t picked up proper reception and eye-hand coordination yet.”
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British Palestinian plastic surgeon and doctor, says he ‘owes it to his patients’ to ensure they receive ‘the justice they deserve’ when testifying about working at hospitals in Gaza pic.twitter.com/TidpznLfOJ
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) January 9, 2024
Dr. Abu Sitta stressed that thousands of children now need prosthetics, and they are likely to develop issues on the opposite limb.
“They may get early osteoarthritis in the hip joint and the knee joint. Or they may get deformity of the back. By their 20s or 30s they may need joint replacements, something people normally get in their 70s and 80s, because of the disproportionate pressure put on the normal joint.”
Rehabilitation Facilities Non-Functional
Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre has been non-functional since December 2023 due to a lack of supplies and staff and was further damaged in a February 2024 raid, according to Save the Children.
Children who have lost legs require long-term specialist care as they grow, with regular reviews of appropriate prosthetics and other treatments – sometimes as much as every six months, the organization added.
Gaza has become home to the largest group of amputee children in modern history.
Every day, 10 children lose one or both of their legs. #GazaGenocide pic.twitter.com/GGcBHYprW9
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) November 24, 2024
These treatments are currently impossible to receive in Gaza, it highlighted.
In September 2024, the World Health Organization said that more than 22,500 people in Gaza had life-changing injuries, requiring rehabilitation services “now and for years to come,” said Save the Children.
It also cited the WHO as having pointed out that beyond the newly injured, tens of thousands of Palestinians already living with chronic conditions or impairments “are now at heightened risk due to the collapse of critical services.”
‘Childhoods Replaced by Trauma’
“In Gaza, childhoods have been replaced by pain and trauma, while the means to effectively treat and support children have been systematically eradicated. Their survival is being thwarted at every turn, as is our ability to provide the critical care they need,” said Alexandra Saieh, Global Head of Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy at Save the Children.
The official pointed out that “The scale and severity of this physical and mental harm not only dashes individual lives but threatens both the fabric and the future of Palestinian society for generations to come.”
A Palestinian child in Gaza, both legs amputated after Israeli terror attacks against children.
He is using rollerskates in one hand to move through the rugged terrain between tents in a displacement camp.pic.twitter.com/DV4kJGzGjE
— Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis (@DrLoupis) December 14, 2024
“To safeguard these futures and prevent further irreparable damage, immediate action from the international community is urgently needed. Every day, every delay, risks further undermining Palestinian children’s increasingly fragile futures,” emphasized Saieh.
The organization reiterated its call for a definitive ceasefire and for all states supplying weapons, parts and ammunition that risk being used in the commission of international crimes in Gaza to cease immediately.
It also urged Israel to lift all restrictions impeding aid delivery.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
