A Palestinian woman places a kettle on the fire in front of her tent, where she took refuge after being displaced, in the city of Gaza, on May 26, 2025. (Credit: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa.)
A British surgeon on a mission at a hospital in Gaza said Monday she has 'never seen so many blast injuries,' as Israel intensifies its military operations in the Palestinian territory, devastated by 20 months of war.
"I have never seen so many blast injuries in my life, nor so many injured in Gaza," said Victoria Rose, a member of a British medical delegation at Nasser Hospital, in the city of Khan Younis (south).
Rose, who has traveled to the Gaza Strip multiple times, explained that she has observed many severe burns typical of individuals exposed to explosions.
"We are seeing these injuries in very young children as well," she added from the hospital's pediatric ward.
Since the resumption of bombings on March 18, Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes per day on the Gaza Strip.
Humanitarian organizations assert there is no longer any safe place in the enclosed territory.
The surgeon reported a fairly high percentage of burns that are very difficult to survive, even in Western countries where there is no war and where we have functioning hospitals and all medical equipment at our disposal.
She also described another type of injuries caused by explosions: "everything surrounding the victims is propelled at high speed, hitting civilians and causing penetrating injuries."
According to her, victims frequently undergo amputations. And since many live under tents, they often arrive at the hospital with wounds soiled with dirt.
"The first thing we do is clean the wounds, cover them, and then attempt to save as much as possible of the affected limb," she explained.
These challenges are compounded by the decreasing number of operational hospitals in Gaza.
"On the second floor, one of the wards was destroyed by a strike. On the fourth, it is the burns unit that was hit," she noted.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated last week that '94% of Gaza's hospitals are now damaged or destroyed, and half are no longer operational.'
According to emergency services, Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people Monday in the Gaza Strip, including 33 in a school converted into a shelter.