GENEVA: The World Health Organization said that at least a quarter of people harmed in the conflict raging in Gaza had suffered “life-changing injuries”, many needing amputations and other “huge” rehabilitation requirements.
At least 22,500 of the patients wounded in Gaza in the 11 months since the conflict started would “requires rehabilitation services now and for years to come”, the WHO said in a statement.
According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 41,118 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strike after the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists, and over 95,000 have been injured.
According to information released by the World Health Organization on Thursday, at least 25% of those injured in the ongoing conflict in Gaza had “life-changing injuries.”
Pointing to a new review of the sorts of injuries stemming from the violence, the UN health agency stated “many thousands of women and children” were among those seriously wounded and that many had experienced more than one injury.
It assessed there had altogether been between 13,455 and 17,550 “severe limb injuries”, which it stated were the major cause of the requirement for rehabilitation.
The investigation found that between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations had happened.
Other life-altering traumas include spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury and serious burn injuries, it stated.
At the same time, WHO claimed just 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are now even partly functioning, while basic health care services are routinely halted or unavailable owing to insecurity, strikes and continuous evacuation orders.
Gaza’s sole limb restoration and rehabilitation clinic, situated in Nasser Medical Complex and funded by WHO stopped operations last December owing to shortage of materials and qualified health professionals.
“Tragically, much of the rehabilitation workforce in Gaza is now displaced,” the statement added.
Peeperkorn remarked 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 warned.
“Immediate and long-term support is urgently needed to address the enormous rehabilitation needs.”
