Israel Commits Atrocities In Many Shapes And Forms
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has denounced Israel for what it called “the targeting and killing of women and healthcare workers” after an Israeli air raid killed Dr Thabat Salim, a 30-year-old female neonatal doctor, in the central Nuseirat refugee camp on Friday.
Salim’s death “is more than a tragedy”, said Dr Alvaro Bermejo, the director general of IPPF.
“It is a devastating indictment of the conditions under which women healthcare providers live and work. She was Palestinian. She was living in Gaza. She was a woman of reproductive age. She was a doctor. She worked in a hospital. She cared for Palestine’s next generation; newborn babies. These factors should have made her a symbol of hope and healing. Instead, they culminated in her murder.”
The Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA) shared:
“Dr. Thabat Salim, you were an unwavering white angel at every moment. You moved tirelessly among the ruins of war, doubling your efforts to provide humanitarian aid and services. You were a source of comfort, wiping the tears of mothers and easing the pain of children and patients suffering the horrors of war in Gaza.
Near a makeshift fabric tent that offers little protection from the winter cold, three-year-old Jihad Mahmoud sits on the chilly sand, playing with a friend. Using his hands to move a ball, Jihad struggles with the loss of his legs, amputated following an Israeli air strike on an area designated as a “safe zone” in Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.
More than four months ago, an air strike claimed both his legs and three fingers on his left hand.
Dragging what remains of his legs and relying on his hands, Jihad moves around while his family clings to hope for prosthetics that could restore some normalcy.
Despite his severe injuries, Jihad retains his joyful spirit, often breaking into laughter when his mother plays with him.
The child is one of over 22,000 Palestinians left with life-altering injuries, according to Sigrid Kaag, the UN coordinator for humanitarian affairs in Gaza, as of September 2024. Among them, roughly 4,000 have suffered amputations due to Israel’s genocidal war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The crisis is particularly dire for children.
“Gaza is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history,” declared Lisa Doughten, an official with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in October 2024. “Each day, ten children are losing one or both of their legs,” she added, citing data provided by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Gaza’s only specialized centers – the Hamad Rehabilitation Hospital and the Gaza Prosthetic Center – were forced out of service after being targeted in Israeli air strikes, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry (continue reading here).
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Source: Gaza City