“Mutilating Body and Soul: 391 Amputated Women Face a Harsh Fate in Displacement”
Palestinian Report Exposes Genocidal Amputations of Women Amid Israeli Military Assault on Gaza
Watan-A new human rights report has revealed a rise in the number of women who have undergone amputations during the war waged by the Israeli occupation state against the Gaza Strip.
Titled “Mutilating Body and Soul: Women in Gaza as Victims of Genocide,” the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights released its latest report, which recounts stories of the widespread cases of limb amputation among women as a result of the Israeli military assault.
The report explains that these injuries are not limited to physical harm alone but extend to deep psychological suffering, imposing severe challenges on the victims amid the collapse of the healthcare system and the tightening siege.
It affirms that these injuries—especially amputations—fall under the second act constituting the “crime of genocide,” namely, “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.”
“Gaza’s Amputated Women: War Wounds Without End”
The report states that, in the context of the genocidal war, the Israeli occupation launched indiscriminate and barbaric bombings across the Gaza Strip, targeting women without distinction. This resulted in hundreds of injuries that led to amputations due to the use of highly destructive weapons.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 391 women have undergone amputations out of 4,500 recorded cases since October 7—a period that coincided with the collapse of the healthcare system due to the targeting of hospitals and medical staff, along with the suffocating siege that deprived the Strip of essential supplies.
Due to the severe shortage of medical teams and equipment, doctors were forced to perform amputations even in cases that could have been treated—often without anesthesia and under inhumane conditions—leading to serious complications that hinder the fitting of prosthetic limbs and worsen the disability.
Women who have undergone amputations face a harsh reality after leaving hospitals, particularly in displacement areas that lack the most basic medical care and psychological support, intensifying their physical pain and emotional trauma, making recovery and adaptation to disability nearly impossible.
The report documented 17 testimonies from women who lost limbs due to Israeli bombardment on Gaza, highlighting the immense physical and psychological harm they endured.
