Watch: Lives of Gaza's child amputees forever changed despite ceasefire
In an Al Jazeera video report, Dr. Mohammed Tahir explains how the loss of limbs has changed life for good for thousands of children in Gaza, even after the ceasefire.
This short Al Jazeera Newsfeed video looks at the children of Gaza who lost limbs in the war. The report says the ceasefire has brought relief but cannot bring back the limbs lost by thousands of Palestinian children. It cites an official from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who said Gaza is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history.
Al Jazeera’s report introduces Dr. Mohammed Tahir, a British Iraqi surgeon, as being from FAJR Scientific. It says he spent months working to save limbs in Gaza. Dr. Tahir said he had treated many children, some as young as 8 months old. He had tried to save the limb for some if not most of them, with success at times and not at others. He explained that the weapons used release shrapnel and other material that stays in the tissue, which prevents healing and causes secondary infection.
The report adds that Dr. Tahir performed what was believed to be the first limb reattachment in Gaza’s history. It also says doctors warn that amputees face serious risks of ongoing complications because of inadequate medical treatment.
For FAJR’s work, the video shows what these injuries mean for a child’s whole life after the fighting stops.
