Gazans take wounds in their stride

Residents of besieged strip defy violent response to their attempts to end long-standing blockade

For eight months in a row, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been taking part in weekly protests along the Gaza

Strip’s border with Israel and sustaining serious injuries in lopsided confrontations with Israeli army soldiers. Doctors Without Borders now says the extremely large number of people in need of treatment for bullet wounds has overwhelmed the territory’s healthcare system.

The international humanitarian organization said this week that most of the 3,000 people it has treated since March were shot in the legs, with about a quarter suffering from infections that, if left untreated, could lead to lifelong disabilities or limb amputations.

For 28-year-old Mohammed Yassin, the casualties are not mere numbers. As someone who was shot in the arm while taking part in protests in eastern Gaza’s Al-Zaytoun, a neighbourhood adjoining the security fence separating the Hamasruled territory from Israel, he stands to benefit personally if medical-aid groups tend to those local hospitals cannot adequately treat.

On a recent morning, Yassin stood in a queue outside a medical centre in Gaza operated by an international humanitarian organization waiting for his turn to consult doctors. He said he feared his arm may have to be amputated due to the lack of specialised treatment in the territory, which has been continuously under an Israeli blockade since 2007 when Hamas seized control after a violent power struggle with Fatah.

The Great March of Return movement, as the weekly protests are called, was born when tens of

More than 200 Palestinians have died since protests began, including 37 children, and more than 22,000 have been wounded.