Civilians in Gaza are sustaining injuries more commonly seen in professionally trained soldiers, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.
The “military grade severity of injuries” includes significant wounds reported in the head, chest, and limbs.
Of the 23,726 trauma-related injuries reported, 67 per cent were due to explosives, with the remainder linked to gunshot wounds.
Burns accounted for 18.3 per cent of injuries, with more than 1 in 10 fourth degree, meaning they penetrated all tissue layers down to the bone. Children in particular are documented as especially affected by severe burns.
The study found that some injuries documented were more common among civilians in Gaza than in soldiers fighting in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – and more than double the rates for civilian populations in contemporary conflicts.
“The resulting injury profiles resembled those reported in combat settings among trained military personnel, highlighting the burden of trauma among civilians in Gaza,” read the study.
“Explosive weapons, designed for open battlefields, are increasingly being deployed in densely populated urban areas.”
Firearm injuries “disproportionately affected the limbs” and were often treated with amputation as the “only viable solution” in the absence of surgical resources. Just under 10 per cent of the 2,325 gunshot patients recorded in the report were shots to the head.
Almost four in 10 were shot in the limbs, with more than a quarter of these striking limbs on both sides.
Malnutrition worsened patient outcomes and “delayed wound healing and preventable deaths from otherwise treatable conditions”.
The peer-reviewed survey, the first to provide detailed data from the frontlines, was conducted using data from 78 experts from across the UK, Canada, the US and the EU, including specialists in several disciplines. The study data was collated between August 2024 and February 2025.
“Firsthand testimony from healthcare workers and victims in Gaza has been vindicated. These findings should ring alarm bells through the halls of government worldwide and the humanitarian community,” said Dr Victoria Rose, one of the study’s authors.
The study said that the scale of severe injury reflects “the impact of indiscriminate aerial and heavy explosive bombardment in civilian areas”.
The Independent has contacted the IDF for comment. The Israelis have previously denied targeting civilians.
