In Gaza, Israeli regime troops aim for the legs
It is now common to see young men walking through dilapidated streets on crutches
Israeli occupation forces deployed along the volatile border with the Gaza Strip have fired live rounds at Palestinian protesters ever since demonstrations against Israel’s long-running blockade of Gaza began in March.
And for eight months, Israeli snipers have targeted one part of the body more than any other — the legs.
More than 175 Palestinians have been shot to death, according to an Associated Press count.
And the number of wounded has reached colossal proportions.
Of the 10,511 protesters treated at hospitals and field clinics in Gaza so far, at least 6,392, or roughly 60 per cent, have been struck in the lower limbs, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
At least 5,884 of those casualties were hit by live ammunition; others have been hit by rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters.
The upsurge in violence has left a visible mark on Gaza that will likely remain for decades to come.
It is now common to see young men walking through dilapidated streets on crutches.
Most have legs bandaged or fitted with a metal frame called a fixator, which uses pins or screws that are inserted into fractured bones to help stabilise them.
The wounded can often be seen gathering at a treatment clinic run by the Paris-based medical charity Doctors Without Borders in Gaza City, where Associated Press photographer Felipe Dana took portraits of some of them.
Unarmed bystanders
Some of those he photographed acknowledged throwing stones toward Israeli regime troops during the demonstrations.
One said he had hurled a firebomb. But others said they were unarmed bystanders; one paramedic said he was helping rescue the wounded, while another man said he was waving a Palestinian flag and another said he was selling coffee and tea.
International human rights groups have said the occupation military’s open-fire rules are unlawful because they allow the use of potentially lethal force in situations where soldiers’ lives are not in immediate danger.
Doctors Without Borders said this month that the huge number of patients was overwhelming Gaza’s health care system, which has already been severely weakened by a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt that has fuelled economic stagnation and rampant unemployment, and devastated water and electricity supplies.
The Paris-based aid group said the majority of the 3,117 patients it has treated have been shot in the legs, and many will need follow-up surgery, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. “These are complex and serious injuries that do not quickly heal,” the group said. “Their severity and the lack of appropriate treatment in Gaza’s crippled health system means that infection is a high risk, especially for patients with open fractures.”
“The consequences of these wounds ... will be lifelong disability for many,” the aid group said. “And if infections are not tackled, then the results could be amputation or even death.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry says it has carried out 94 amputations since the protests began, 82 of them involving lower limbs.
Doctors Without Borders said that the huge number of patients was overwhelming Gaza’s health care system, which has already been severely weakened by a blockade imposed by Israeli regime and Egypt.