I watched mum take final breath waiting for help after Israel missile hit school – I lost my leg & now need prosthetic
OVER the past 19 months of war in Gaza it can be easy to get lost in the sea of horrific details that have emerged nearly every single day.
However, one in particular stands out — the number of
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There have been 4,700 amputation cases in Gaza over the past 19 months
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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Rosamond Bennett spoke to some of those impacted
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Gaza has the 'largest cohort of child amputees in modern history'
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Figures show that there have been 4,700 amputation cases, including 850 children.
UNOCHA said that Gaza has the 'largest cohort of child amputees in modern history'.
Christian Aid Ireland's local Gaza partner Palestinian Centre for Human Rights recently documented testimonies from women and girls who lost limbs due to attacks by the
Here, Rosamond Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Christian Aid
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TEENAGER Leila (not her real name) is one of the girls who lost a limb due to an attack.
Displaced time and time again, the 17-year-old's family were living in a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza when their lives changed forever.
Leila recalled: 'On December 14, 2024, my life was shattered. As I walked past the school's administrative office, a deafening explosion rang out. An Israeli missile struck the corridor just metres away. The force of the blast knocked me to the ground.
'We waited 30 agonising minutes for an ambulance — as if time had frozen — while I watched my mother take her final breaths.'
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The blast severed one of Leila's legs and badly wounded the other. In the following weeks, she underwent four surgeries on her left leg and one on her right.
Her hopes for the future are simple. She said: 'Since my injury, I've had one dream: to receive a prosthetic limb.
Dramatic moment Israel launches fresh airstrikes in major operation 'Gideon's Chariots' to 'seize and control' Gaza
'Without it, my life is nearly impossible. I can't carry anything while walking, and I rely on crutches to move.
'Under the constant strain of forced displacement, even the crutches become an obstacle, making movement more painful and difficult. I don't ask for much — only for the war to end and for the Israeli occupation to allow me to travel for treatment.'
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PCHR also spoke to 19-year-old Lama, who was newlywed just 40 days before the war began. In January, the couple was asleep when a shell from an Israeli tank struck their apartment.
Lama said: 'We were on the fourth floor, but the force of the explosion threw me and my husband 40 metres away from the building. When our neighbours came to rescue us, they found my husband and me in the yard of a nearby house."
LEG SEVERED
Lama lost consciousness before being taken to hospital. When she came to, she realised that her left leg had been severed in the blast.
She recalled: 'I tried to sit up on the hospital bed and bend my left leg without realising what had happened to it. For a moment, I thought it was still there. I looked at my right leg and saw platinum plates implanted in it, in a desperate attempt to save it from amputation.
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'Amid the overwhelming number of injured and the lack of necessary medical resources to stop the bleeding, I was considered nothing more than a body awaiting to be pronounced dead.'
Despite their best attempts, doctors later had to amputate Lama's right leg to prevent septicaemia from setting in.
PROSTHETICS HOPE
Both Lama and Leila hope to travel abroad to get prosthetic limbs.
PCHR has long worked to support patients who require emergency treatment to apply for permits for medical evacuation. However, they were forced to suspend this work last year following the Israeli military incursion and closure of crossings.
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Right now, between 10,500 and 12,500 patients in Gaza remain in need of medical evacuation. Compounding the situation amputees face has been Israel's prevention of all aid and commercial supplies from entering Gaza since the start of March, making anaesthetic, painkillers and medical aids like crutches scarce.
According to PCHR, the shortage of medical staff and equipment has left doctors performing amputations on patients who could otherwise have been treated and have their limbs saved.
HEALTH SYSTEM ON BRINK
With Gaza's health system on the brink of collapse under the unrelenting bombardment, it's incredibly difficult to provide medical follow-up, which can hamper amputees' recovery.
Rosamond said: 'In a blink of an eye, the lives of these women and girls were changed forever.
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'Their injuries have caused untold physical and psychological harm and they need specialist support.
'Israel must open up all crossings so all those in need of medical evacuation, including amputees, can get the treatment and rehabilitative care they need.
'Israel must also immediately end its weaponisation of aid and allow all goods and supplies, including much-needed medicines and medical equipment, to enter Gaza.'
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Gaza's health system on the brink of collapse under the unrelenting bombardment
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Between 10,500 and 12,500 patients in Gaza remain in need of medical evacuation
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