New estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicate that 43,000 people in the Gaza Strip have suffered life-altering, severe injuries as a result of Israeli attacks since October 2023.
However, the supplies needed to help them have been stuck at customs for more than one year in some cases, Reinhilde van de Weerdt, the WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Tuesday.
About a quarter of the injured people are minors, she added.
Roughly half of the 43,000 people have serious limb injuries, more than 5,000 have undergone amputations, over 2,000 have suffered spinal cord injuries, more than 3,400 have severe burns, and over 1,300 have traumatic brain injuries, according to WHO data.
The total number of injured people, including less complicated cases, stands at around 172,000.
Van de Weerdt said there are far too few rehabilitation facilities available to meet the scale of need.
At the same time, as of mid-April, 18 shipments of rehabilitation equipment were awaiting clearance through Israeli customs, with delays sometimes exceeding a year.
The items stuck at the border include wheelchairs for adults and children, as well as prosthetics and rehabilitation equipment such as stationary bikes. The WHO is calling for the imports to be cleared without further delays or rejections.
"The people of Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering," said van de Weerdt. "They deserve not just emergency care, but the sustained support needed to recover and reclaim their lives."
Israel launched the attacks in response to the devastating assault by Hamas and other militants from the Gaza Strip, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed in Israel on October 7, 2023, and more than 250 were taken hostage and abducted to the coastal strip.
Israeli officials say the conflict is directed against Hamas. According to the health authority in the Gaza Strip, more than 72,700 people have been killed in Israeli attacks.