Israel restricting treatment for more than 1,100 child amputees in Gaza, rights group says

A human rights organisation has accused Israel of preventing child amputees in Gaza from travelling abroad for medical treatment, saying restrictions on movement include medical evacuations that keep hundreds of children from specialised care.

In a report released on Wednesday, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said 1,134 children in Gaza have had limbs amputated as a result of Israeli attacks, yet only a small number are receiving the long-term medical care they require.

Figures from the World Health Organization show that 2,300 amputees, including both children and adults, were assessed for treatment between September 2024 and May 2026. Fewer than a quarter of them, just 500 people, have received permanent prosthetics.

The Geneva-based monitor said the strip has almost no capacity to fill the gap. "Only eight certified prosthetics and orthotics professionals are currently available in Gaza," it said, adding that there is not enough equipment to manufacture, fit, maintain and adjust prosthetic limbs.

The organisation warned that "continued denial of treatment, rehabilitation, and appropriate education risks turning the harm these children face now into lifelong deprivation." It added that "gaps in medical follow-up and failure to adjust prosthetic limbs as the children grow may cause further complications, chronic pain, and increased difficulty moving."

Fidaa Ahmad Al-Shaer, 36, told the group that her 11-year-old son was left paralysed and lost a hand when an Israeli artillery shell landed near him. She said he needs multiple surgeries abroad and a prosthetic limb, but the closed crossings have made that impossible.

The monitor went further, accusing Israel of war crimes. It said that "deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part, are acts listed in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention," adding that "the amputation of children's limbs and the obstruction of their treatment and rehabilitation form part of this pattern."

According to the organisation, Israeli restrictions have also stopped Palestinians from importing the equipment needed to produce prosthetic limbs inside Gaza. It said specialised teams additionally require entry permits to enter the strip, where they would carry out work and train local staff.