Rehabilitation · Gaza Strip
Rehabilitation after limb loss
Prostheses, therapy, equipment maintenance and local assessment services support rehabilitation after limb loss.
· Retrospective
A personal goal for rehabilitation
The International Committee of the Red Cross’s April 23, 2026 account of Aseel followed rehabilitation through a goal that mattered to her: walking and dancing at her wedding after losing a leg. ICRC-supported physical therapy, a prosthesis and practice with the rehabilitation team helped her prepare for that day.
The story also followed her beyond the celebration. Displacement and life in a tent continued, alongside concerns about sand, hygiene and infection. Her experience shows why the surroundings a person returns to remain part of the recovery story, even after an important milestone.
A device is one part of rehabilitation
The ICRC’s wider physical rehabilitation program combines mobility devices with professional services. Prostheses replace missing limbs; orthoses support limbs that need assistance; wheelchairs provide another means of getting around. Its program also supports training for rehabilitation professionals, specialist expertise and continuing education so that local services can deliver care over time.
Its stated approach connects early rehabilitation with mental health support and a person’s participation in community life. Across the global program, local partners may support inclusive education, sport, vocational training or employment. Those are broader program methods, rather than a list of services documented for Aseel. They show how rehabilitation can extend from movement in a treatment room to opportunities outside it.
Keeping local services available
In its operational reporting through October 2025, the ICRC described support for Gaza’s Artificial Limbs and Polio Centre to resume partial services. The work included maintaining prostheses and orthoses, providing assistive devices and preparing people for prosthetic use. This makes repair and ongoing professional support part of the service, alongside the initial provision of equipment.
The same update documented a registration and clinical-assessment effort in partnership with Gaza’s Ministry of Health for people with amputations and other injuries causing permanent disability. It also recorded psychological support at the centre and wheelchairs supplied through local health facilities.