In the heart of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the middle of the Gaza Strip, the childhood tragedy is embodied in its ugliest form, where children lie who lost their limbs and dreams to Israeli weapons that turned their lives into an unbearable hell.
Among these children, the story of four-year-old Elia Younis stood out, telling one of thousands of stories of amputated children in the Gaza Strip.
The girl’s father says that his daughter lost her right foot as a result of being hit by shrapnel from an Israeli missile that targeted their house in the Nuseirat camp, while her left foot and the palms of her hands are still at risk of amputation due to deep burns that covered 45% of her little body.
Elijah’s father added that their house was targeted by direct bombardment on September 7 without warning, which led to the death of his nine-year-old son, in addition to his mother and sister, noting that the rest of his family members were seriously injured.
We did not think, as we spoke with Elijah’s father last month, that this would be the last interview before he announced the death of his daughter in an American hospital. After long treatment attempts in the Gaza Strip, which lacked medical capabilities, Elia was transferred to the United States to receive treatment. She was martyred on November 20, leaving behind a void and a wound that will never heal in the hearts of her family and everyone who knew her story.
Tenderness and musk
In another section of the hospital, sits Mrs. Shifa Al-Doqqi, who narrates the tragedy of her two nieces, who were not more than three years old, after they were subjected to amputation as a result of the Israeli occupation bombing of their house in Deir Al-Balah, and the martyrdom of their mother.
Shifa explains that her three-year-old niece, Hanan, lost her legs and suffers from severe burns and intestinal lacerations as a result of fragments of the missile that threw her 6 meters away due to the force of the explosion, noting that she now needs plastic surgery and skin grafting, in addition to physical and psychological treatment.
As for her sister Misk, who is 1 year and 3 months old, she suffered an amputation in her left foot, and needs long and intensive rehabilitation treatment.
Amputation injuries
Dr. Muhammad Shaheen, an orthopedic surgeon at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, explained that the hospital receives large casualties, most of them children and women, in light of the ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
Dr. Shaheen stated, in an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net, that priority is given to cases of amputation and open fractures, especially in children, and the cases are divided according to medical priority with the aim of reducing amputation cases as much as possible. Pointing out that children are brought into the operating rooms immediately to try to restore the broken limbs as much as possible and avoid amputations.
He pointed to the variety of injuries he treats daily, such as amputations and deep wounds resulting from shrapnel from Israeli weapons, which have increased the rate of amputations among children, in addition to the type of unusual injuries caused by these weapons.
He added that dealing with amputation of limbs in children requires special care to avoid complications and infections that may lead to death.
Dr. Shaheen explained that the medical team that deals with amputation cases includes a doctor, a nurse, a physical therapist, and a psychological support specialist, who work together to support the treatment of children and wounded people after an amputation.
The doctor pointed out that the role of the doctor stops after the amputation, and the role of the nurse stops after the wound is closed, but the role of the physical therapist and psychological support specialist begins to rehabilitate the injured to live their normal lives.
Medical and psychological challenges
Arafat Abu Mashaykh, head of the mental health department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, said in a statement to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that psychological support for children who have been subjected to amputation varies according to their age, noting that a large number of them, especially those under 10 years old, believe that their limbs The amputated will grow back.
Abu Mashaykh explained that the child often enters a stage of denial and is not sufficiently familiar with prosthetic limbs, indicating that malnutrition negatively affects children’s health and the wound healing process.
He pointed out that the lack of health and psychological care, in addition to the absence of psychological rehabilitation and occupational therapy, leads to a deterioration in the health and psychological condition of children.
He stressed that children who suffer from amputation also suffer from social problems, as they feel helpless compared to their peers, as they cannot walk, play, or carry out their daily lives normally. The loss of one or both parents also affects the child’s psychology, especially the feeling of security and obtaining adequate support from the family.
Abu Mashaykh explained that psychological support could include creating therapeutic groups that bring together children with amputees, or showing videos showing success stories of people who were able to live their lives normally after amputation.
He added that psychological rehabilitation must focus on convincing the child, both psychologically and medically, to move from the stage of denial to the stage of acceptance, while emphasizing that amputation is not the end of the world, but rather it can be a new beginning for a different life, but close to normal.
He stressed that psychological rehabilitation constitutes 90% of the treatment process, while prosthetic limbs constitute only 10%, stressing the importance of gradual rehabilitation, including social integration and enhancing independence, so that the child learns to rely on himself in the activities of his daily life.
Official local and international statistics indicate that the war caused more than 11,000 amputation cases, including 4,000 amputation cases among children, who do not have access to artificial limbs and the necessary treatment requirements in the besieged Strip.
With American support, Israel has been waging a war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, which left more than 148,000 Palestinians martyred and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world. .
