- Over 9,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have undergone limb amputations due to Israeli bombing.
- 1,000 children in Gaza underwent amputations without anaesthesia. This devastating impact reflects a grim reality of the toll on Gazan children.
UNICEF has reported that over 9,000 children in Gaza have suffered injuries amid the relentless Israeli bombardment, contending with the profound impact of losing either an arm or a leg.
Furthermore, on Friday, Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, expressed that a minimum of 1,000 children in Gaza underwent amputations without anaesthesia due to Israel blocking the entry of essential supplies. “The monstrosity of our century,” the UN Special Rapporteur wrote on X. She said that Israel is bombing areas of Gaza it had designated as “safe”. “It is wiping out entire families, making countless children orphans & forcing countless men & women to survive their offspring,” she wrote.
“It’s not as if there’s… a natural disaster preventing anaesthesia [from entering] Gaza,” Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) founder Steve Sosebee said during an interview with Democracy Now. He further remarked that the count of child amputees was anticipated to increase “because a lot of these kids have significant injuries [that mean] they’ll need amputations in the coming weeks and months”. “Not only were they amputated without anaesthesia, but many of them were amputated in a very quick fashion,” he said.
In addition, PCRF reports that the scarcity of medical resources and restricted movement in the besieged area pose a risk of osteomyelitis (bone infection) for many Palestinians with delayed medical treatment, often leading to the necessity of amputation for injuries that could be treatable under normal circumstances.
Destination Jannah
Khaled, a Palestinian elder whose name resonates globally due to the poignant loss of “the soul of his soul,” Reem, his granddaughter, was seen last month comforting and reassuring a young Palestinian girl regarding her limbs and what would happen to her in the afterlife.
“your Leg has already proceeded you to jannah!”
– Khaled
This act reflects the actions of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). Amr ibn al-Jamuh (RA) participated in the Battle of Uhud despite being an elderly man with a notable limp. One day, the Prophet (saw) halted him to convey that his leg had already secured a place in Jannah (Paradise).
The Palestinians epitomise robust resilience, characterised by their steadfastness and the absence of wahn. Wahn refers to an excessive love or attachment to this ephemeral world, to the detriment of one’s focus on spiritual matters and the Hereafter. It can encompass distractions, indulgence in material pursuits, and the neglect of one’s spiritual duties. The Palestinians have demonstrated exceptional patience (Allahumma Barik). Their believing souls do not succumb to worldly attachments, rather are focused on what’s to come after this world is over. This unwavering commitment to their true purpose in life stands as an unparalleled inspiration for Muslims across the globe. May Allah (swt) deem us among those free from the affliction of wahn…Ameen.
