In what may be the last week of Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza, the Israeli occupation has continued its relentless attacks on Palestinian health workers and hospitals, alongside the daily killing of dozens. In just the first week of 2025, UNICEF estimates that at least 74 children were killed in Gaza. Countless others have sustained injuries—both physical and psychological—that will leave lifelong scars.
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A recent analysis by Save the Children reveals that Israel’s use of explosive weapons last year caused limb injuries and impairments to hearing and vision in an average of 475 children each month. This equates to 15 children per day suffering physical trauma likely to result in lifelong disabilities. And this figure only accounts for documented bodily harm—an already devastating statistic that does not include the broader scope of suffering from mental trauma.
Surgeons specializing in orthopedic and reconstructive procedures, including Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, have emphasized that the effects of this trauma will be felt for generations. The destruction of therapy and rehabilitation facilities means that proper treatment and follow-up care will be unavailable for years. Reacting to the Save the Children report, Dr. Abu-Sittah explained that the treatment of such injuries in Gaza will differ significantly from standard courses of treatment, with those injured potentially requiring joint replacements as early as 20 or 30 years of age, compared to the usual 70. “Gaza is redefining war injuries,” Dr. Abu-Sittah stated. “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.”
Healing among children is further hampered by their poor overall health, with hunger contributing to slow and complicated recovery, compounded by ongoing Israeli attacks. “Wounds are not healing due to the increased levels of malnutrition—we’re basically trying to stitch back wounds that won’t heal,” said Dr. Ana Jeelani from Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in response to the report on child injuries. “Children are heading to amputations because bones are not healing, limbs fixed but not functional because of the gravity of the situation.”
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Widespread hunger in Gaza stems from Israeli attacks on local food and agricultural infrastructure, the ongoing blockade on aid deliveries, and the looting it has incited. The entire population, not just children, lacks access to nutritious food. United Nations (UN) agencies warn that, by December 2024, approximately 40,000 pregnant women faced emergency levels of food insecurity, with at least 8,000 in catastrophic conditions. In overcrowded camps, amid winter cold and rising concerns of gender-based violence, health workers in Gaza also reported increasing rates of preterm deliveries and birth complications, while only a handful of hospitals remain capable of providing neonatal and maternal care.
Hospitals with functioning obstetrics departments face significant problems due to a lack of fuel and spare parts for medical equipment, a consequence of the same Israeli blockade on aid deliveries. This shortage affects not only maternity care but also the operation of intensive care units, dialysis services, and ambulances, drastically reducing the scope of care that can be provided.
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Limits to care are further exacerbated by the fact that Israeli forces have killed over 1,000 Palestinian health workers in Gaza and continue to detain hundreds more. Among them is Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, whose detention has led to global outrage. Recent reports from his family reveal that he is in critical condition due to torture inflicted since his kidnapping in late December 2024.
Similar fates have been reported by other detained health workers, whose absence continues to loom over Gaza’s healthcare system. International calls for their release, including those for Dr. Abu Safiya, have largely gone unheeded, even as Western powers suddenly express vocal support for a ceasefire.
People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and subscriptions to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.