Children Bear Brunt of Gaza Genocide – 23% of Amputations, 70% of Burns

By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Jun 23, 2025
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According to the Health Cluster, children in Gaza now account for 23 percent of amputations. (Photo: via QNN)

The report said that the rehabilitation service capacity is extremely limited across the Strip, with “an estimated 30,000 trauma cases.”

Children in the besieged Gaza Strip account for 23 percent of amputations and 26 percent of spinal cord injuries, yet there are no specialized pediatric rehabilitation services available in all of the enclave, according to the UN.

Additionally, ​​33 per cent of traumatic brain injuries and 70 per cent of surgical burn cases are among children, the latest Situation Report dated June 18, issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated. It cited data from Health Cluster partners.


The report said that the rehabilitation service capacity is extremely limited across the Strip, with “an estimated 30,000 trauma cases” already in need of long-term rehabilitation support and only 85 rehabilitation beds remaining functional.

Psychological Distress

A recent World Health Organization (WHO) visit to Hamad Rehabilitation Hospital noted that children awaiting hearing services “are exhibiting significant psychological distress,” with early intervention for non-traumatic cases absent.


The number of amputees in need of prosthetic services has surged to 6,000 people – comprising 4,000 new and 2,000 pre-existing cases.

At least 292 patients, including 57 children, are awaiting stump revision surgery.

Secondary Complications

Essential rehabilitation materials have reached critically low levels, and some health facilities have already run out, the report noted.

In addition, overwhelmed services and insufficient materials “are leading to severe secondary complications.”


It is estimated that 30 percent of inpatient beds at Al Wafaa Rehabilitation Hospital, Gaza’s only remaining specialist rehabilitation facility, are occupied by people suffering from “advanced pressure sores.”

The Health Cluster warned that “all persons with pre-existing disabilities, older adults, and individuals with impairments related to chronic pain or non-communicable diseases are at risk of deterioration, contributing to long-term disability and increasing the long-term costs of and demand for rehabilitation.”

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Pregnancies, Newborns at Risk

The report said the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warns of a maternal health crisis in Gaza, where “women are starving, giving birth without clean water, hygiene, or medical care.”

“Half of essential maternal health medicines have been exhausted, and no UNFPA’s supplies, including life-saving maternal health medicines, have entered Gaza for more than three months,” the report indicated.


Meanwhile,  190 truckloads of UNFPA supplies were denied entry at the border during the blockade.

“This crisis is being compounded by the drastic depletion of fuel,” the report stated.

Without fuel, 80 per cent of critical care units essential for births and medical emergencies “will shut down, and newborns in incubators and intensive care units risk suffocating as life-saving machines fail,” the UNFPA warned.  

It said that “one in three pregnancies is high-risk, and one in five newborns is born preterm or underweight, requiring specialist care that is increasingly unavailable.”

Only five hospitals are still providing maternity care across the entire Gaza Strip.

Food Aid

The report stressed that the current delivery volume and pace of humanitarian aid into Gaza “remain critically insufficient.”

Despite this, Israeli authorities continue to prohibit humanitarian partners from carrying out food parcel distributions within Gaza, further obstructing humanitarian efforts to reach households with life-saving assistance.


According to the Food Security Sector (FSS), “consistent, frequent, large-scale deliveries through multiple crossing points are urgently needed” to address the acute food needs and stabilize wheat flour availability, pricing, and affordability.

The  WFP’s latest market monitor report highlighted that despite the lifting of the total blockade on Gaza by Israeli authorities on May 19, “the number of commercial and aid trucks remains minimal and persistent looting makes it difficult for most convoys to reach their intended destinations inside Gaza.”


As a result, the availability and affordability of essential food items on the local market has not improved, and “basic survival [has become] increasingly out of reach for much of the population,” the report noted.

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Famine Concerns

The latest FAO-WFP Hunger Hotspots Report warned that “the likelihood of famine” in Gaza Strip is growing.

“This is due to protracted and large-scale military operations that continue to cause widespread destruction, mass displacement and the near total collapse of the food system, coupled with inadequate plans for delivering food and non-food items (NFIs) amid extreme humanitarian access constraints,” the OCHA report said.


The report further highlighted that the devastating crisis is exacerbated by growing critical funding shortfalls.

Noting that the report is a “red alert,” WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain said: “We have the tools and experience to respond, but without funding and access, we cannot save lives.”

Malnutrition

The latest available data indicate a continued deterioration in the nutrition situation of Gaza.

According to analysis by the Nutrition Cluster of mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) screenings of children aged 6 to 59 months, rates of acute malnutrition have sharply increased across all governorates.

Between March and May, “proxy rates of acute malnutrition have more than doubled: in Gaza city the rates multiplied by 1.7, in Khan Younis by 2.2, in Deir al Balah by 2.8, and in North Gaza by 2.”


“No data is currently available for Rafah, which remains fully under displacement orders,” the report said.

This worsening trend is further reflected in the number of newly identified cases of acute malnutrition, which increased from 2,068 in February to 5,452 in May. Furthermore, the severity of detected cases has also increased; in May, 13 per cent of newly identified cases suffered from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), compared to 11.5 per cent in March.

The health risks are likewise escalating for an estimated 55,000 pregnant women, for whom each missed meal increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and undernourished newborns, UNFPA warned.

According to the Nutrition Cluster data analysis from May, between 15 and 20 per cent of pregnant women are acutely malnourished.

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Aid Attempts Denied

In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities, the report noted.

Between 11 and 17 June, out of 100 attempts to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, nearly 51 per cent were denied by Israeli authorities, it stated.


In addition, 12 percent were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, 23 per cent were fully facilitated, and 14 per cent were withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons.

Staggering Death Toll

Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.

On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 55,000, wounding more than 127,000, with over 14,000 still missing.

Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.


Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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