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GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL
Raed Abu al-Kaas, a municipal employee, lost his right leg in an Israeli airstrike as he was trying to operate water wells for civilians in Gaza City.
His son and two colleagues were also killed in another strike, while his other son was badly injured and his leg too was amputated.
"I was opening water valves for citizens. I thought my work serving the people would protect me, but the (Israeli) occupation deprived us of any security,” Raed told Anadolu.
“They targeted us though we were defenseless. My leg was amputated before my eyes, my son was killed and my other son sustained an injury that changed his life forever."
Sitting beside him at an artificial limbs center in Gaza City is his son Mahmoud with pain evident on his face.
“I dreamed of becoming a professional footballer to make my family happy, but the occupation dashed my dreams and amputated my leg,” he said in a broken voice.
"Now I sit in a wheelchair and only dream of fitting myself with an advanced prosthetic limb that will help me stand again, so I can help my father, whose leg was amputated."
- Arduous journey
Every day, the Palestinian father and his son spend several hours at the limbs center to practice using their prosthetic limbs and receiving rehabilitation and training sessions.
Throughout this arduous journey, they have only one dream: to travel abroad to receive advanced prosthetic limbs that will enable them to regain some of their normal lives.
"I have only Mahmoud, and my wife, who bears the full brunt of our care,” Raed said. “Our dream is to have lightweight limbs so we can help each other and live with dignity."
Interrupting his father, Mahmoud said, “I dream of traveling. I want to run again, to play football again, even if just a little, with my friends.”
“The Israeli occupation has crushed my dreams, but it hasn't broken my faith that we will return to our normal life,” the determined young man said.
According to figures released by Gaza’s government media office, at least 4,700 Palestinians have undergone amputations due to Israel’s genocidal attacks, 20% of whom are children.
In December, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), declared that Gaza is facing a “pandemic of disabilities.”
“Now, Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world – many losing limbs & undergoing surgeries without even anesthesia,” he tweeted at the time.
- Israeli siege
Hosni Mahanna, a spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry’s Artificial Limbs and Polio Center, said most amputations were caused by the use of explosive weapons and the direct targeting of civilians.
“The center has received around 600 amputees since the start of the Israeli aggression, and they are being monitored regularly by specialists and technical staff,” he told Anadolu.
Mahanna said prosthetic limbs have been installed to around 100 injured people.
“Dozens of prosthetic devices and wheelchairs have also been delivered to those in need,” he said.
According to the spokesman, 320 people are currently undergoing physical therapy at the center.
“The demand for the center's services is increasing daily," he said. “Our teams are working under extreme pressure and with limited resources to meet the needs of the growing number of patients.”
Multiple human rights and UN reports have repeatedly said that Gaza’s health sector is severely crippled due to the Israeli war, its deliberate targeting of medical centers and hospitals, and the closure of border crossings.
Israel has closed Gaza’s border crossings to food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid since March 2, triggering a deepening humanitarian disaster, according to reports from government bodies, human rights groups, and international agencies.
The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the resistance group Hamas.
Over 52,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
