Large number of child amputees arrive at hospitals daily in Gaza: UK doctor

A British doctor who has visited the besieged Gaza Strip three times since 7 October, 2023, said her third visit was by far the worst where a large number of children arrived at the hospital with amputated limbs every day, the Times reported.

“First there’s the six-year-old girl whose left cheek and shoulder were amputated, then the two-year-old girl, the infant, the three-year-old orphan boy, the four-year-old boy, and the eleven-year-old boy who lost all nine of his siblings,” Dr Victoria Ross said.

The 53-year-old doctor said most of the cases she dealt with were wounded civilians due to explosions that injured young children, including the amputation of arms, legs, and hands.

READ: At least 27 Palestinians killed near Israeli aid site in Gaza, medics say

She said that on most days she works for 14 hours a day until 11pm, after which she tries to get some rest in the female doctors’ dormitory behind the intensive care unit, however the Israeli bombing usually begins at 4am.

The British doctor noted that despite the long hours and exhaustion, she tries to continue filming her daily life and documenting events via Telegram, because Israel prevents foreign journalists from entering Gaza.

In a post she published on Saturday morning, the doctor said that “intense bombing” had caused smoke to rise, so much so that she could not see the sky when she went outside at 6am.

“Oh my God, a bomb exploded and it looks huge,” said Rose, speaking on the phone.

She said that her August trip to Gaza “was bad”, but that the situation now is “much worse”.

READ: Gaza: Israel turning aid centres into mass death traps