Gaza hosts world’s largest group of child amputees
Shafaq News – Gaza
Nearly 42,000 people in Gaza are living with life-altering injuries from Israel’s war, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on Friday.
Lazzarini, citing World Health Organization (WHO) data, noted that one in four of the injured is a child, adding that Gaza now has the largest number of child amputees in modern history amid a collapsing health system.
UNRWA teams, working with WHO and partner organizations, have provided psychosocial support to more than 30,000 people with disabilities since the war began, with over 8,000 receiving assistive devices and rehabilitation services, Lazzarini said, stressing that teams “are sparing no efforts to make sure they are not left behind.”
Read more: Gaza’s forgotten wounded: A society rebuilt on crutches
Nearly 42,000 people in #Gaza have life-changing injuries because of the war, according to @WHO. One in four is a child. Gaza now hosts the largest group of child amputees in modern history. With the collapse of the medical system during the war, those with serious injuries… pic.twitter.com/uB2SxPv39P
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 5, 2025
WHO estimates more than 5,000 people have undergone amputations, excluding traumatic amputations that occurred at the moment of injury outside medical facilities. Severe cases include 1,300 traumatic brain injuries, more than 3,300 major burns, and widespread limb injuries, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported.
Only 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, WHO added, and many of Gaza’s 1,300 physiotherapists and 400 occupational therapists have been displaced or killed.
Meanwhile, Israeli ceasefire violations continued today, with heavy artillery, airstrikes, and demolitions reported across several areas, along with machine-gun fire from armored vehicles operating in combat zones.
BREAKING: Israeli occupation forces are carrying out demolitions of homes in the Shujaiyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, in violation of the ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/mZs7XG1T0o
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 5, 2025
Gaza’s Government Media Office says more than 500 violations have occurred since the agreement began: Israeli forces fired on civilians 164 times, raided areas beyond the yellow line 25 times, carried out 280 strikes, and demolished property on 118 occasions.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 11, Israeli attacks have killed 366 Palestinians and injured 938, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, raising the overall toll since October 7, 2023, to 70,125 killed and 171,015 injured.
