‘Dozens of corpses’ on Rafah’s streets as Israeli attacks intensify

Doctors in Gaza say as many as 3,000 Palestinian children have lost limbs in Israel’s war on the enclave.

The war is creating a generation of traumatised amputees. Thousands of children across the Strip have lost one or more limbs since the onslaught began. Many are undergoing amputations without anaesthetic.

Maimed by an Israeli drone, Sham is one of thousands of child amputees in the Strip.

“Sham was standing near the door, and a piece of shrapnel hit her hand. I ran outside and found her hand, hanging by a thread,” her mother said.

It took hours for her to be seen by a doctor as not a single hospital in Gaza is fully functioning. Despite the horror of her experience, Sham was one of the luckier ones. Her amputation was performed with anaesthetic.

“The situation is way beyond the medical staff’s control given the substantial number of injuries and the lack of medical equipment and resources that are required to deal with these cases,” Dr Mohammed Shaheen, resident orthopaedic surgeon at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, said.