reconstructing lives after amputations

Many of the recent amputations in Gaza are a result of bullet injuries during the Great March. Nearly every Friday between 30 March 2018 and December 2019, protestors in the ‘Great March of Return’ held demonstrations at the fence between Gaza, Palestine, and Israel. According to the UN, more than 36,000 people were injured during the 18 months of protests, 22% by live ammunition. There were more than 7,000 wounds to limbs. At least 156 people have undergone amputation so far and for many more, this is the only option left.

Between the first protest in March 2018 and 30 November 2019, MSF admitted more than 4,830 people to their trauma clinics. In 2018, MSF scaled-up its medical capacity to care for people shot during GMR protests, to provide plastic and orthopaedic surgery. After surgery, MSF also provided dressing changes, physiotherapy, health education and psychosocial support.

In April 2022, four years since the protests began, many of those injured are still struggling with the devastating consequences of their wounds that take an ever-greater toll on them and their loved ones. For many of the injured, amputation is a last resort that is seen as a failure, due to the stigmatization of amputees and its impact on their lives, even though it could greatly improve quality of life.

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