Fourteen year-old amputee Lama al-Agha receives treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP
Over 5,000 Palestinians, a quarter of them children, are in need of prosthetic limbs, according the Palestinian health ministry.
The scale of amputations has pushed Gaza’s per capita rate above that of Cambodia, long considered among the highest due to landmine injuries, according to aid group Humanity & Inclusion, as reported by Reuters.
Medical workers say the lack of supplies has forced clinics to reuse prosthetic limbs recovered from people killed by the occupation forces during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza or to improvise with plastic piping and wood, practices that can lead to infections or further injury.
Aid flows have declined in recent months due to Israeli violations of the October ceasefire terms, resulting in persistent shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies.
The ceasefire framework called for the entry of around 600 trucks per day, but only a fraction of that has been reaching the enclave, contributing to rising prices and deepening shortages.
Additionally, medical evacuations through the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main exit point to Egypt, have also remained irregular.
Israel, meanwhile, claims its ban is only on goods "having potential military use".
The International Committee of the Red Cross said supplies of plaster of Paris have been almost entirely restricted for more than four months, with remaining stock expected to run out by mid-year.
Officials at Gaza’s Artificial Limbs and Polio Centre, the main prosthetics facility supported by the Red Cross, say production has dropped to a fraction of demand.
"What we are producing now are very small quantities compared to the actual need," said Hosni Mhana, the centre's spokesperson, without giving numbers.
At the Sheikh Hamad Hospital, staff say no new prosthetic materials have arrived during the war, leaving the facility able only to maintain existing devices.
"There are no local alternatives for prosthetic manufacturing materials," said the hospital's General Director, Ahmed Naim.
Humanity & Inclusion says it has fitted 118 temporary prosthetic limbs in Gaza since early 2025 and that supplies from its last shipment in 2024 are nearly exhausted.
Aid officials warn that the lack of prosthetics is prolonging recovery and compounding trauma, particularly among children, while also limiting mobility in a conflict where civilians remain at risk.
“The amputation itself is not just a lost limb, it’s lost independence,” said Heba Bashir, a technical officer with Humanity & Inclusion.
Palestinians affected by amputations describe long-term physical and economic hardship.
Hazem Foura, 40, who lost a leg in an airstrike, said he has been unable to return to work and is seeking a prosthetic to regain mobility; he added that he is “not asking for the luxuries of life, I am asking for a limb so I can regain my humanity”.
Similarly, 14-year-old Fadel al-Naji used to be a keen footballer but is now largely confined to his home in Gaza City since both legs were severed in an Israeli drone attack in September.
He sits sullenly on a couch with one hollow pant leg dangling and the other tucked into his waist beside his 11-year-old brother, who lost an eye in the same strike.
"He has become withdrawn and isolated," said his mother, Najwa al-Naji, showing old videos of him doing kick-ups on her phone. "It is as if he is dying slowly, and I wish that they would fit him with prosthetic limbs."
Medical workers say the shortage of specialized care and equipment has contributed to preventable amputations and continues to hinder rehabilitation efforts across the enclave.
Short link: