Every day since October 7, an average of more than 10 children have lost one or both legs in Gaza, with many of the amputations carried out without anesthesia, the charity Save the Children said in a statement on January 7, citing statistics released by UN, reported CNN.
"The suffering of children in this conflict is unimaginable, unnecessary and completely preventable," said Jason Lee, Save the Children's director for the occupied Palestinian territory.
"The killing and mutilation of children is condemned as a serious offense against children and the perpetrators must be held accountable."
Lee said he saw "totally overwhelmed doctors and nurses" when children were brought in with blast wounds.
"The impact of seeing children in so much pain and not having the equipment, medicine to treat them or relieve the pain is too great even for experienced professionals. Even in a war zone the sights and sounds of a small child maimed of bombs cannot be perceived, let alone understood within humanity," says Lee.
In its statement, the charity cited remarks by UNICEF spokesman James Elder, who, after returning from Gaza, said on December 19 that around 1,000 children in Gaza had lost one or both legs since October 7 as hospitals were overwhelmed with children and their parents bearing the "terrible wounds of war".
Save the Children also cited a statement from the World Health Organization, in which the agency said that many of these operations on children in Gaza were performed without anesthesia, as the enclave is experiencing acute shortages of drugs and medical supplies.
The charity said children are almost seven times more likely to die from blast injuries than adults because they are more vulnerable and susceptible to injury. "Their skulls are not yet fully formed, and their underdeveloped muscles offer less protection, so the blast is more likely to tear apart the organs in their abdomens, even when there is no visible damage," Lee said.
"If the international community does not take action to uphold its responsibilities under international humanitarian law and to prevent the most serious crimes of an international nature, history will and must judge us all," Li said.
Only a "final ceasefire" would end the "killing and maiming of civilians" and allow "desperately needed humanitarian aid" to reach Gaza, including vital medicines for injured children, he added.
The IDF has repeatedly stated that it does not target civilians and that the terrorist group Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as a shield for its attacks on Israel.
The Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Sunday that at least 22,835 Palestinians had been killed and at least 58,416 wounded in Gaza since October 7. In the last 24 hours, at least 113 people died and at least 250 were injured, the ministry announced./BGNES
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