UAE field hospital offers hope to Gazans in need of prosthetics

Dozens of injured civilians who lost their limbs in the war will be offered treatment

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A UAE field hospital in Rafah has started fitting prosthetics for people who lost their limbs during Israel's war in Gaza.

The hospital said that 61 prosthetics would be provided in several stages. In each stage “prosthetics will be fitted for 10 injured people with physical and psychological rehabilitation” offered at the same time.

Jihad Abu Yossif, who has been confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the knee, said the prosthetics offered by the UAE hospital had given him hope.

“I am not just paralysed, I am more than paralysed because I can't do anything. I feel like my life is slowly ending,” Mr Abu Yossif told The National.

“Here at the hospital, they are trying their best to save my leg,” he said.

He was struck while checking on his home after being forced to leave it.

He bled for hours and spent several days in intensive care. He has been waiting for approval to travel to receive the right treatment.

“I used to walk and move all the time. Suddenly finding myself imprisoned in this wheelchair makes me feel broken,” he said.

Mohammed Al Nawajha, 27, has been undergoing training to adjust to his new limb.

“I want to live my life normally; I want to hold my seven-month-old baby girl,” Mr Al Nawajha told The National.

He was selling vegetables in his shop when a missile hit a building in northern Gaza. He lost a leg and one of his co-workers was killed.

Now Mr Al Nawajha is staying in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, with his wife and two children after three months of displacement. He used a walking stick to travel to the south.

“I felt so weak. I couldn't do anything by myself, but they promised me that this limb would let me get my life back to normal,” he said.

“I would like to thank the team here who gave us hope again. I want to go back to my work again,” he said.

Sultan Al Kabi, the hospital's director, said President Sheikh Mohamed's initiative for advanced prosthetics used the latest technologies to benefit those in need.

“The percentage of people who have been injured is quite large. The opportunity has been opened for all wounded and injured individuals in any area in Gaza to benefit from this project,” Mr Al Kabi told The National

About 50 people have already had their measurements taken as part of the first phase.

The second phase involves the delivery of the prosthetic limbs. About 30 have been delivered so far.

“A team has been established and professional physiotherapists gathered to ensure that the prosthetics are delivered to those in need. The beneficiary of the prosthetic is trained on how to use it effectively,” he said.

The prosthetics are designed to make the user feel as if it were a natural limb, he said.

“Some areas that are inaccessible are reached by sending specialists to bring them here for measurements. Communication with them is established through all available means,” Mr Al Kabi said.