Gaza Medics Describe Horrific Injuries at Border

Demonstrators shot by Israeli soldiers at the Gaza Border are suffering “devastating injuries of unusual severity”. (Photo: via Twitter)

The injuries sustained by Gaza protesters at the hands of Israeli troops during the ongoing Great March of Return are unusually severe, doctors say, adding they have seen nothing similar since the Israeli war of 2014.

Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, head of mission of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Palestine, said in a report released last week:

“Half of the more than 500 patients we have admitted in our clinics have injuries where the bullet has literally destroyed tissue after having pulverized the bone.” 

The international medical group stressed that its doctors treated a number of patients with “devastating injuries of an unusual severity” who will have to undergo “complex surgical operations.”

The majority of the victims will have serious and long-term physical disabilities, according to the report.

“Some patients may yet need amputation if not provided with sufficient care in Gaza,” the statement added. The medics said that large exit wounds “can be the size of a fist.”

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a British charity that operates in the West Bank and Gaza, also expressed concern.

“The bullets used are causing injuries local medics say they have not seen since 2014. The entrance wound is small. The exit wound is devastating, causing gross comminution of bone and destruction of soft tissue,” the London-based group said, citing one of the surgeons in its report last week.

Israel’s 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza resulted in over 2,000 deaths.

These wounds may cause a range of diseases, including sepsis, gangrene, osteomyelitis and may finally lead to amputation.

“Many of the wounded will be living with the consequences of these shocking injuries for the rest of their lives,” Aimee Shalan, MAP’s CEO, said.

Both medical organizations repeatedly used the word “destruction” to specify the extent of the damage the victims suffered from live fire at the protests.

??#Palestine || 21 cases of limbs amputation as a result of the Zionist occupation attacks against the citizens participating in the march of the Great Return since 30 March.(4 amputations in the upper limbs included 1 in the palm of the hand and 3 fingers, in addition to 17 amputations in the lower limbs) . Israeli snipers are using Butterfly bullets. They explode and cause severe damage in flesh layers and bones, which caused many to lose their legs. . . وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية : 21حالة بتر للاطراف جراء اعتداء الاحتلال الصهيوني بحق المواطنين المشاركين في مسيرة العودة الكبرى منذ 30 مارس الماضى رُصدت و من حالات البتر ( 4 حالات بتر في الاطراف العلوية شملت 1 في كف اليد و 3 في الاصابع ، اضافة الى 17 حالة بتر في الاطراف السفلية )

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The reports come amid protests that continue to take place at the Gaza border as part of the Great Return March. The rallies, which have been held since March 30, are slated to continue until the anniversary of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, also known as Nakba, on May 15, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled or simply fled their homes in the Arab-Israeli War.

Israeli actions provoked angry reactions from international rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, which repeatedly slammed the use of force against unarmed demonstrators.

(RT, PC, Social Media)

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