Gaza amputees fight to rebuild lives, face delay for evacuations

Sitting in her wheelchair, Haneen Al Mabhouh dreams of rebuilding her family, of cradling a new baby.

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She dreams of walking again. But with her leg gone, her life in Gaza is on hold, she says, as she waits to go abroad for further treatment.An Israeli airstrike in July 2024 smashed her home in central Gaza as she and her family slept. All four of her daughters were killed, including her 5-month-old baby. Her husband was severely burned. Al Mabhouh's legs were crushed under the rubble, and doctors had to amputate her right leg above the knee.

"For the past year and a half, I have been unable to move around, to live like others. For the past year and a half, I have been without children," she said, speaking at her parents’ home.

The 2-month-old ceasefire in Gaza has been slow to bring help for thousands of Palestinians who suffered amputations from Israeli bombardment over the past two years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates there are some 5,000 to 6,000 amputees from the war, 25% of them children.

Those who lost limbs are struggling to adapt, faced with a shortage of prosthetic limbs and long delays in medical evacuations out of Gaza.

The WHO said a shipment of essential prosthetic supplies recently made it into Gaza. That appears to be the first significant shipment for the past two years.