A ceasefire came into effect in Gaza on 19th January 2025. A surge of supplies has entered Gaza since the beginning of the ceasefire, enabling an increase in the humanitarian response to critical needs.
Debris management, retrieval of bodies and addressing explosive ordnance contamination across Gaza are some of the immediate priorities, together with the further scaling up of humanitarian aid and reinstatement of essential services.
IDEALS has a senior orthopaedic surgeon at the European hospital, Khan Younis, for four weeks from 21st January, and he will be joined by a team of four additional orthopaedic and plastic reconstructive surgeons on 13th February. We hope that team will be able to carry in some vital surgical supplies if the ceasefire holds and the improved access continues. However, even if the ceasefire holds and leads to a more permanent peace, we are only at the beginning of a recovery process that will take decades. Within that recovery there are an estimated 20,000 patients requiring complex limb reconstruction; to save their lives and limbs and preserve/improve function and overall quality of life.
This is an overwhelming level of need and we hope you will continue to support our efforts to make a positive difference.
To support our life-saving work please donate through the link above. Thank you.
Prior to the ceasefire:
- At least 47,161 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and 111,166 injured. Women and children, tragically, make up 70% of all those killed to date.
- Many people remain missing, presumably buried under the rubble, waiting for rescue or recovery.
- Heavy bombardments across Gaza from air, land and sea are ongoing, with intense ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups.
- Only 17 of 36 hospitals across Gaza are partially functional, and only eight of these can currently admit patients. Not a single hospital is fully functional and all health facilities are facing critical shortages of staff, fuel and medical supplies. Eight field hospitals are operational, providing some support to a fragmented and overwhelmed health care system.
- Only 57 of 132 primary health care clinics are even partially functional, because of damage or a lack of fuel and/or staff and/or drugs/supplies. This severely compromises access to health care for everyone, but particularly young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, older persons, persons with disabilities and patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
- There are an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and more than 180 giving birth every day in the most appalling conditions; most without access to midwives, doctors or health care facilities. Maternal deaths, miscarriages and preterm births continue to rise, with conditions being particularly critical in besieged areas of the North Gaza governorate.
- Fewer than 500 patients have been evacuated to receive life-saving medical treatment outside of Gaza over the past eight months; mainly children with cancer. About 14,000 patients with life-threatening conditions await approval to exit.
- A severe water shortage, consumption of contaminated water, massive overcrowding in shelters and breakdown of the vaccination programme have already resulted in a surge in communicable disease reports, with cases of diarrhoea, respiratory tract infections and hepatitis A rising rapidly, and the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years now confirmed. There has also been a concerning increase in the number of cases of mumps and meningitis, with potentially devastating outbreaks of typhoid, cholera and measles anticipated.
- 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes, fleeing to emergency shelters or the homes of family/friends, with many now displaced multiple times.
- Critical food shortages have created famine conditions across Gaza, especially in the north. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported a staggering and rapid rise in acute malnutrition levels among children.
- Mains electricity has been unavailable since 11th October 2023, with completely inadequate fuel supplies for emergency generators, even at hospitals.
Our Immediate Objective:
To help respond to the current emergency, getting surgical teams and life-saving equipment/supplies into Gaza as soon as possible. Our first team worked at the European hospital for two weeks from 27th December 2023, and we have deployed another six teams since then to the European and Nasser hospitals, both in Khan Younis. We have been able to support local colleagues, exhausted and fearful for their families, with the emergency surgical management of survivors of major trauma (predominantly blast and crush injuries), and the subsequent management of patients with complex limb injuries. So many of these patients have lost family members and have devastating, disabling wounds, requiring multiple operations and lifelong rehabilitation.
A Summary of Our Clinical Activity to Date:
Medium/Longer-Term Objectives:
- To continue regular missions and vital equipment procurement over the next year, with the focus changing post-ceasefire from emergency care to longer-term reconstruction and rehabilitation.
- To continue support for the established adult/paediatric trauma and limb reconstruction services, to ensure resilience and robust succession planning.
