WHO: 25% of Gaza wounded suffer 'life-changing injuries'

At least a quarter of Palestinians wounded in Israel’s war on the besieged Gaza Strip have suffered “life-changing injuries”, with many requiring amputations and other “huge” rehabilitation needs, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

In a statement issued yesterday, the WHO explained that at least 22,500 of the people injured in Gaza in the 11 months since the war erupted will “require rehabilitation services now and for years to come.”

“The huge surge in rehabilitation needs occurs in parallel with the ongoing decimation of the health system,” Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative for the Palestinian territories, said in a statement.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said yesterday that the death toll from Israel’s devastating war on Gaza has reached at least 41,118 people, with over 95,000 wounded.

For its part, the WHO explained that “many thousands of women and children” have been badly injured and that many had suffered more than one injury.

It estimated there had overall been between 13,455 and 17,550 “severe limb injuries,” which it said were the main driver of the need for rehabilitation.

A recent analysis of the types of injuries recorded in Gaza showed there had been between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations, noting that other life-altering injuries included spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and major burn injuries.

WHO said only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are currently partially functional, while primary health care services are frequently suspended or inaccessible due to insecurity, attacks and repeated evacuation orders.

Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre, located in the Nasser Medical Complex and supported by WHO, ceased to function in December due to lack of supplies and specialised health workers.

“Tragically, much of the rehabilitation workforce in Gaza is now displaced,” the statement said.

Peeperkorn said that “patients can’t get the care they need.”

“Acute rehabilitation services are severely disrupted and specialised care for complex injuries is not available, placing patients’ lives at risk,” he said.

“Immediate and long-term support is urgently needed to address the enormous rehabilitation needs.”

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