More than 6,000 amputations have been recorded in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, as shortages of medical supplies and equipment hamper efforts to provide prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation services, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Husni Muhanna, media and public relations officer at Gaza’s Prosthetics and Paralysis Center, said children account for approximately 25 percent of people receiving services at the facility.
He said treating children with amputations presents particular challenges because they require specialized rehabilitation and prosthetic limbs that must be repeatedly adapted as they grow.
Muhanna said restrictions on the entry of medical and technical supplies have significantly limited the center’s ability to respond to the growing number of patients requiring prosthetics.
The center is experiencing severe shortages of equipment and materials needed to manufacture artificial limbs, he said, including plaster used during essential stages of the production process.
