Khan Younis, Gaza —

For hospital bed for Khan Younis Al-Nasser Medical Complex, one 8-year-old girl, Sila Madi, dey lie down, no dey move. Her eyes dey look one kain, dey focus for where her legs suppose dey before.

Her face wey before dey shine like pikin own don change, hunger and wahala don make am dry. After plenty bombing and suffer, na di loss of her legs break her spirit pass.

Sila wahala start for May 17, when Israeli airstrike hit tents wey displaced families dey stay for Al-Mawasi, where her family run go hide. Di bomb blow her body far, dem find her unconscious—her right leg don commot. Days later, dem see di leg for di rubble.

But di worst never finish.

One week after dem do surgery for her, infection begin spread for di remaining leg. Gaza health system no fit help well because e don spoil, so doctors no get choice but to cut di other leg too.

She manage talk small, she dey ask her papa di same question wey she don dey ask before: “Where dem dey? Who carry dem?” She dey point her hand go di place where her legs suppose dey.

Her papa, Nidal Madi, try calm her down, even though e don try before and e no work. “Dem dey with God, my pikin. God go give you better ones.” But before e finish, Sila don dey shake her head, she no gree. “God no want my legs! Why una cut dem? How I go waka now?” she cry, her heart dey break.

Madi waka comot, di cry of him pikin and di pain wey e no fit stop don weigh am down.

Sila story na one out of many. By April 2025, Gaza Health Ministry don record at least 4,700 amputations since di war escalate for October 2023. Out of dis number, 846 na children. But officials talk say di numbers no complete because many people no fit reach hospital or register because of bad roads, displacement, or no documents.

“Dis no be normal war injury,” Walid Hamdan, wey be head of physical therapy services for Ministry of Health, talk. “Plenty children don lose legs from di knee up, and at least 200 don paralyze because of spinal cord damage,” e tell TRT World.

For January, UNICEF talk say Gaza get di highest number of child amputees for di world. But di numbers no fit explain di kind wahala wey dey ground.

For di same airstrike wey Sila lose her legs, her mama, Nesreen, lose some toes and get deep wound from shrapnel. Her sister Rahaf, wey be 18 years, lose her left leg. Di family don run comot from Rafah and dey stay for makeshift tents like thousands of others when di bomb hit dem.

“We lose nine people for dat attack,” Madi talk, him voice dey shake. “My mama, my brother, him wife... and others. Eleven people still wound. Na massacre.”

Di health system don collapse

Even before di war, Gaza health system don dey struggle. But 19 months of Israeli destruction don make di matter worse.

World Health Organization (WHO) talk say at least 94 percent of hospitals for Gaza don damage or dem don destroy dem. OCHA update talk say di health service points don spoil well well for di past two years. “Since May 14, four hospitals wey dey work small small don stop, so di number of hospitals wey dey try don reduce from 22 to 18,” di report talk.

Di wahala wey di destroyed hospitals and blocked medical aid dey cause na serious one: normal injuries dey turn to death sentence or dem dey lead to amputations.

“Wounds wey suppose heal dey turn to infection, and e dey lead to amputations,” Hamdan explain. “Na children dey suffer pass. Dem no fit fight infection. Hunger don weaken their body.”

Malnutrition wey don spread for Gaza dey make recovery hard. Hunger dey slow healing, dey spoil bone, and dey make surgical wounds dey get infection.

Prosthetics no dey. Mobility aids like wheelchair, crutches, and walkers no dey. Di Israeli blockade on essential goods mean say even basic wound care things no dey. Three prosthetic centres for Gaza don close; only one dey work, and e no dey steady.

“Children like Sila need urgent rehabilitation,” Hamdan talk. “But equipment no dey, money no dey, and no safe place dey for dem to heal.”

Before dem cut her second leg, Sila still get hope. Doctors tell her say she fit waka again. But as di infection worsen and no option dey, di hope vanish.

“She break down when we tell her,” Madi talk. “Since dat time, she no dey talk much, na either silence or she dey scream.”

E don try everything—local NGOs, international agencies, health authorities—to get prosthetic or even make dem carry her go abroad. Everywhere e go, dem close door for am.

“Dem dey tell me say nothing dey available. Even if she fit travel, no country dey accept Gaza patients now. I no fit do anything.”

“E dey crawl for sand”

For Al-Mawasi, 11-year-old Yaseen al-Ghalban dey use him elbow dey waka for di dirt floor of him family tent. Both of him legs don commot after Israeli airstrike for April 12, just days after him family return to di ruins of their bombed house for Rafah.

Him mama, Fadwa al-Ghalban, dey hold am tight as e dey look space. Him papa and older brother die for December 5, 2023, when Israeli bomb hit one school wey dem dey use as shelter. Another brother, Mohammed, lose one leg too and dey with their uncle for Türkiye where dem dey treat am. But Yaseen still dey Gaza.

“Dem no gree give am travel permit because e be pikin and no fit travel alone,” him mama talk. “E need plenty surgery before dem fit even give am prosthetics.”

Al-Ghalban, wey dey study physics for PhD, dey share her time between taking care of her son wounds and feeding her three other children, all of dem dey live for tent wey no get running water or light.

“I dey try make I no cry for front of am,” she talk. “But e no dey leave me. Him trauma too much.”

Yaseen wheelchair wey Red Cross donate don spoil, e dey useless for di sand wey dey surround their tent. Him wounds dey bad because of di heat. “If dem no treat am, I no sure say e go survive.”

Children for Gaza dey live with di double wahala of physical disability and emotional trauma. Most of dem never get any psychological support. Di war don take their schools, their houses, and now, for many, their legs.

“Dis children no just need prosthetics,” Dr. Jamal Al-Farra from Al-Amal Hospital talk. “Dem need therapy, education, medical follow-up, and hope.”

Al-Farra hospital, with Red Crescent, dey plan to open Gaza first post-war prosthetics and rehabilitation centre. Di place go get physiotherapy, speech and trauma therapy, and prosthetic services—if dem fit get supplies.

But e no go reach everybody.

“Most children wey dem amputate no even dey registered,” e talk. “Their families dey scattered, dem no fit reach dem. Di real number of injured people pass wetin we know.”

As some countries dey celebrate International Children’s Day today, dey talk say every pikin get right to safety and care, Gaza children wey don lose their legs and their families dey feel abandoned and forgotten. Dem dey lie down for tents, for rubble, for overcrowded hospital wards. Some dey cry in pain, others dey silent.

“We no choose dis war,” Madi talk as e hold Sila weak hand. “We be civilians. Fathers. Mothers. We just want make our children fit waka again.”

Dis piece na collaboration with Egab.