The embattled Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory that lies between Israel and Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea, has been the site of almost constant international conflict since it was formally established in the “Green Line” 1949 Armistice Agreements between Egypt and Israel. The subject of a continual tug-of-war between Palestinians and Israelis, it was violently battered by Israeli air strikes in the December 2008 Gaza War with Egypt. Now, according to IRIN, the humanitarian news service of the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the thousands of amputees living in the territory are served by a single hospital and a handful of independent facilities, some of them badly damaged and all seriously undersupplied.
IRIN quoted Mohamed Ziada, one of five O&P professionals at Gaza’s Artificial Limb and Polio Centre, as saying, “We have 250 new amputees following the Israeli war to add to the 5,000 cases we had before the war…. Some of the injured from the Gaza war are still having problems with their amputated limbs, as they were not treated properly at the time due to the hectic situation; initial treatments focused on saving lives.” He added that Israel has blockaded Gaza’s borders since June 2007, interrupting imports of prosthetic componentry and supplies. “We use hundreds of different parts, plastics and materials to make prosthetic arms and legs. Without even just one of the materials, the limb cannot be made,” Ziada said. “The Red Cross helps the center to mediate between us and the Israelis to let materials cross, which takes about three months.”
Ziada also contends that visiting prosthetists from outside Gaza have been denied entry into the country, even though their mission was simply to train Gazan clinicians. “We need at least another five specialists because of the large number of amputees from the Gaza war,” he concluded.
