STORY: Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have lost limbs during Israel’s war with Hamas, and the United Nations says the enclave now has the largest population of amputees in the world, with little hope of treatment or rehabilitation.

Local health data documents at least 4,800 amputations since the war began, many of them among children. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says Gaza is home to the largest number of child amputees in modern history, as doctors are often forced to remove limbs to save lives in hospitals that are barely functioning.

Much of Al Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital, lies in ruins. Wards are crammed with child patients, while supplies remain critically low.

Among them is Mohammad Hassan, who lost his left leg while on his way to buy falafel.

“I tried to run, but it was too fast. I found myself thrown against a wall, and when I looked, my leg was gone,” he said from his hospital bed.

Nearby, Maryam Abu Alba lay with one leg amputated and the other fitted with metal plates after an airstrike hit her home. Her grandmother said she suffers greatly and appealed for prosthetic support.

Another patient, Shahd, lost her left arm to shrapnel.

“I wish they would give me a prosthetic arm so I can move it again,” she said.

In Khan Younis, displaced father of four Ibrahim Abdel Nabi recounted how he eventually lost his leg while trying to collect food aid in May.

"I was hit by an explosive bullet in my foot, and it was amputated immediately," he said. "I kept bleeding for about an hour and a half, and no one came to help me. Everyone was preoccupied with getting food for their children. Later, some young men rescued me and took me to the nearby Red Cross hospital."

After a dozen operations, "each time, infections would spread in my leg, and they would have to amputate another part until I reached this condition,” he said.

Abdel Nabi and his wife later fashioned a crude prosthetic from a sewage pipe and an old window frame so he could keep collecting flour and water for his children.

“It doesn’t replace my leg, but at least I can lean on it,” he said, showing the prosthetic limb to his children. "I will continue to use it, even though it harms me; it can wound my leg, cause infections, and worsen the pain. As you know, at present we have no medical care and no supplies. The situation keeps getting worse.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says getting prosthetic limbs into Gaza has been a major challenge, further slowing recovery for thousands of patients.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s response has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, reduced much of the territory to rubble and displaced nearly the entire population.

Israel says its bombardment is aimed at destroying Hamas, which it accuses of operating within civilian areas. Hamas denies hiding among the population. Israel says it seeks to limit civilian harm.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: CHILDREN AND MAN IN GAZA WITH AMPUTATED LIMBS / INTERVIEWS

VIDEO AS INCOMING

SHOWS: GAZA CITY, GAZA (AUGUST 19, 2025) (UNIFEED - Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF CHILD, MOHAMMAD HASSAN, SITTING ON A HOSPITAL BED IN PAIN AT AL SHIFA HOSPITAL, AFTER HIS LEFT LEG WAS AMPUTATED BY AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMPUTEE, MOHAMMAD HASSAN, SAYING:

“I was going to buy falafel. When I came back, before reaching home, I looked up and saw the missile falling on us. I tried to run, but it was too fast. I found myself thrown against a wall, and when I looked, my leg was gone. Then someone carried me and brought me to this hospital.”

3. HASSAN IN BED

4. VARIOUS OF CHILD, MARYAM ABU ALBA, LYING ON A HOSPITAL BED, CRYING, LOOKING INTO THE CAMERA - HER RIGHT LEG IS INTACT WHILE HER LEFT LEG IS SEVERELY INJURED

5. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED GRANDMOTHER OF MARYAM ABU ALBA, SAYING:

“First, the house next to them was bombed, and then their house was hit. The child’s leg was amputated, while the other leg has metal plates because of a fracture. She suffers greatly from the amputation, and we appeal to everyone to provide her with a prosthetic limb and help treat her other leg because of severed tendons and nerves.”

6. VARIOUS OF CHILD, SHAHD, LYING ON A HOSPITAL BED WITH HER LEFT ARM AMPUTATED BY AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMPUTEE, SHAHD, SAYING:

“I was standing in front of our house when shrapnel hit me, and I was injured and lost my arm.”

8. VARIOUS OF SHAHD SITTING ON A HOSPITAL BED WITH HER GRANDMOTHER BESIDE HER, LOOKING INTO CAMERA

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMPUTEE, SHAHD, SAYING:

“I wish they would give me a prosthetic arm so I can move it again.”

10. RECEPTION AREA OF AL SHIFA HOSPITAL, SHOWING WOUNDED PATIENTS

11. EXTERIOR ENTRANCE OF THE REMAINING PART OF AL SHIFA HOSPITAL

12. BUILDINGS OF AL SHIFA MEDICAL COMPLEX, THE LARGEST HOSPITAL IN GAZA, SHOWING THE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE WAR

KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (AUGUST 19, 2025) (UNIFEED - Access all)

13. VARIOUS OF IBRAHIM ABDEL NABI’S FAMILY AS THEY LIGHT A FIRE TO COOK IN A DISPLACEMENT CAMP IN THE TOWN OF AL MAWASI IN WESTERN KHAN YOUNIS

14. VARIOUS OF ABDEL NABI HOLDING HIS MOBILE PHONE AND LOOKING AT PHOTOS OF HIMSELF STANDING ON BOTH FEET BEFORE ONE OF THEM WAS AMPUTATED

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMPUTEE, IBRAHIM ABDEL NABI, SAYING:

“On May 27, 2025, they said that the humanitarian organization had opened its doors to distribute aid through ID cards. My wife and I sat together and agreed that I should take my card and go. When I went to the Al-Alam area west of Rafah to collect aid, upon arrival, I was hit by an explosive bullet in my foot, and it was amputated immediately. I kept bleeding for about an hour and a half, and no one came to help me. Everyone was preoccupied with getting food for their children. Later, some young men rescued me and took me to the nearby Red Cross hospital. I stayed there for about a month and a half and underwent around 12 surgeries, most of them cleaning procedures due to malnutrition and heavy blood loss. Each time, infections would spread in my leg, and they would have to amputate another part until I reached this condition.”

16. VARIOUS OF ABDEL NABI SITTING IN HIS TENT WITH HIS WIFE AND FOUR CHILDREN

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMPUTEE, IBRAHIM ABDEL NABI, SAYING:

“When I left the hospital and sat in my tent, I saw everyone around me going to bring aid. Even my children sat with me and said, ‘Dad, why don’t you go and bring us aid?’ When my kids asked me for food, my psychological state grew worse, and I suffered deeply inside when they told me, ‘Dad, we don’t have any flour.’”

18. VARIOUS OF ABDEL NABI SITTING WITH HIS CHILDREN WHILE LOOKING AT PROSTHETIC LIMB HE MADE FOR HIMSELF OUT OF A SEWAGE PIPE AND AN OLD WINDOW

19. PROSTHETIC LIMB

20. ABDEL NABI'S YOUNGEST CHILD HOLDING THE PROSTHETIC LIMB

21. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AMPUTEE, IBRAHIM ABDEL NABI, SAYING:

“My wife and I came up with the idea of making a prosthetic limb from the simplest materials we had so that I could go and collect aid, carry a bag of flour on my back, and walk normally. At least I would be able to bring food and water to my wife and children. I crafted the prosthetic and thank God I managed to walk on it. It’s not good—it doesn’t cover even 20 percent of the disability, and it doesn’t replace my leg—but at least I can lean on it to fetch food and water. During this period, I will continue to use it, even though it harms me; it can wound my leg, cause infections, and worsen the pain. As you know, at present we have no medical care and no supplies. The situation keeps getting worse.”

22. VARIOUS OF ABDEL NABI MOVING INSIDE HIS TENT WITH HIS WIFE HELPING HIM

23. VARIOUS OF ABDEL NABI SITTING ON A CHAIR WHILE HIS WIFE HELPS HIM WEAR THE PROSTHETIC LIMB

24. VARIOUS OF ABDEL NABI WALKING WITH THE PROSTHETIC LIMB, SUPPORTED BY HIS WIFE