-
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Children make up around 40 percent of the victims of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as the overall death toll passes 13,000 people.
Over 30,000 are wounded, with both physical and mental injuries that will take a lifetime to recover from.
In an overnight Israeli bombing that targeted their house, Dina Abu Mohsen lost her parents and her right leg.
"I was sleeping and my father was awake, and together we heard the first strike on our house, so my father and mother hugged me," Dina said. "I woke up and hugged my brother, and after the second strike, I opened my eyes and found stones and destruction above us."
"My leg was amputated, and my older brother survived without injuries, and my younger sister was injured in the face.
"I lost all of my family members, except for a brother and a sister. I lost my mother and father."
Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis is overwhelmed by the lack of fuel and medicine in addition to the huge number of injured patients.
Zeyad is a three-month-old baby boy who has sustained brain injuries following an Israeli strike on his home.
"My husband was under the rubble and he was injured all over his face. I then asked about my infant son Zeyad. When we brought him to the hospital, the doctors gave him x-rays and many tests, and there were three fractures in his head," Latifa Abu Musa, Zeyad's mother, recounted.
According to the World Health Organization, 20 hospitals in Gaza are closed and the remaining hospitals are operating partially due to the intensified Israeli bombing campaign and their repeated failures to bring in medicines and supply fuel.
Although Nasser Hospital continues to receive the wounded and sick, the complex suffers from many crises that negatively affect the services provided, especially for the wounded.
"The situation has become more tragic in recent days and there is an increase in water shortage and electricity outages," Hatem Dhair, head of the nursery department at Nasser Medical Complex, said. "There is an increase in the need for the wounded children at the nursery departments in Nasser Medical Hospital because it is the largest hospital in the south."
Dhair warned that since the war started, they have registered a growing number of "cases of infection with diarrhea, meningitis, and skin diseases... among young children."
Over 30,000 are wounded, with both physical and mental injuries that will take a lifetime to recover from.
In an overnight Israeli bombing that targeted their house, Dina Abu Mohsen lost her parents and her right leg.
"I was sleeping and my father was awake, and together we heard the first strike on our house, so my father and mother hugged me," Dina said. "I woke up and hugged my brother, and after the second strike, I opened my eyes and found stones and destruction above us."
"My leg was amputated, and my older brother survived without injuries, and my younger sister was injured in the face.
"I lost all of my family members, except for a brother and a sister. I lost my mother and father."
Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis is overwhelmed by the lack of fuel and medicine in addition to the huge number of injured patients.
Zeyad is a three-month-old baby boy who has sustained brain injuries following an Israeli strike on his home.
"My husband was under the rubble and he was injured all over his face. I then asked about my infant son Zeyad. When we brought him to the hospital, the doctors gave him x-rays and many tests, and there were three fractures in his head," Latifa Abu Musa, Zeyad's mother, recounted.
According to the World Health Organization, 20 hospitals in Gaza are closed and the remaining hospitals are operating partially due to the intensified Israeli bombing campaign and their repeated failures to bring in medicines and supply fuel.
Although Nasser Hospital continues to receive the wounded and sick, the complex suffers from many crises that negatively affect the services provided, especially for the wounded.
"The situation has become more tragic in recent days and there is an increase in water shortage and electricity outages," Hatem Dhair, head of the nursery department at Nasser Medical Complex, said. "There is an increase in the need for the wounded children at the nursery departments in Nasser Medical Hospital because it is the largest hospital in the south."
Dhair warned that since the war started, they have registered a growing number of "cases of infection with diarrhea, meningitis, and skin diseases... among young children."
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment