Rehabilitation Hospital in Gaza Offers Hope to Child Amputees

Gaza is now home to more child amputees than anywhere else in the world — a grim consequence of nearly two years of relentless conflict. After 22 months of Israel’s war on the besieged territory, thousands of children have lost one or more limbs. Aid groups estimate that at least a quarter of all those injured have sustained life-changing disabilities.

Against this backdrop, the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Rehabilitation and Prosthetics Hospital in Gaza City has resumed operations, offering a rare source of hope for survivors. The facility — supported by the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) — had been severely damaged during Israeli shelling earlier in the conflict, forcing a suspension of its critical services.

The reopening means children and adults with war-related amputations can once again access advanced prosthetic fitting, physiotherapy, and psychological support. For many young patients, it marks the first step in regaining mobility, independence, and some sense of normality after catastrophic injuries.

“Every day we see children who have lost limbs playing in the street without proper care. Now, at least, we can start to give them a chance to walk again,” a hospital staff member told Al Jazeera’s Moath al-Kahlout.

The Sheikh Hamad facility has long been one of Gaza’s most advanced rehabilitation centres, equipped to handle complex prosthetic cases and long-term therapy. Its revival comes as humanitarian organisations warn of a mounting crisis for Gaza’s disabled population, particularly children.

According to local and international medical workers, the scale of amputations is unprecedented. Many survivors face prolonged recovery in a health system already on the brink of collapse, compounded by shortages of medical supplies, restricted access to materials for prosthetics, and ongoing insecurity.

QFFD officials say the rehabilitation hospital’s reopening is part of a wider Qatari commitment to supporting Gaza’s health sector and enabling the territory’s most vulnerable to receive dignified, specialised care.

For Gaza’s child amputees, the return of the Sheikh Hamad Rehabilitation Clinic represents more than just a building coming back to life — it is the reopening of a lifeline in a place where loss is widespread, but hope is increasingly rare.