Photos of amputees in Gaza, struggling to survive after losing limbs to Israeli airstrikes

NUSEIRAT, Gaza Strip (AP) — Yassin Marouf, 23, lies in a tent, his left foot amputated and his right leg severely wounded after being hit by Israeli shelling in May. His brother was killed in the same attack, and Marouf struggles with basic movements. Doctors say his right leg may also need amputation unless he receives treatment outside the Palestinian territory.

Nearby, 34-year-old Haneen al-Mabhouh, sits in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza, mourning the loss of her four daughters, including her 5-month-old baby, who were killed in an Israeli strike on her home last year. Al-Mabhouh also lost her leg in the attack and awaits permission to travel abroad for further treatment that could restore her mobility.

“I dream of walking again, of holding a new baby, of rebuilding my family,” she said, her voice heavy with grief. For now, she relies on her parents for basic daily care and cannot even hold a pen.

In Gaza, thousands face similar challenges. Youssef al-Samri, 16, lost both legs while fetching water near his home after an Israeli airstrike in May. Displaced to a kindergarten in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, he navigates his world on his hands, relying on support to move through the classrooms where children play around him.

Twelve-year-old Fadi al-Balbisi is learning to walk again with a prosthetic after losing his right leg to shelling in April. At Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, he practices with a prosthetic limb under the guidance of specialists, each step a hard-earned milestone toward regaining independence.

The World Health Organization estimates that 5,000 to 6,000 people in Gaza have become amputees from the Israel-Hamas war, a quarter of them children. Many face long waits for prosthetics or medical evacuations abroad. Local centers, like the Artificial Limbs and Polio Center in Gaza City, are overwhelmed and have only limited supplies to provide artificial limbs.

While a recent shipment of essential prosthetic materials has arrived in Gaza, the need remains critical. Patients like al-Mabhouh and Marouf face months-long waits for treatments that could prevent further amputations or restore mobility. Even with ceasefires in place, medical evacuations have been slow, hampered by bureaucratic and logistical barriers.

In the midst of this crisis, the lives of those affected are frozen in uncertainty. For al-Mabhouh, Marouf, al-Samri, and al-Balbisi, each day is a struggle for movement, dignity, and hope, as they navigate the aftermath of war with resilience and the faint promise of medical help.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Haneen al-Mabhouh, 34, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike on her home that also killed all four of her daughters, including her 5-month-old baby, looks at photos of her daughters on a cellphone while sitting in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Yassin Marouf, 23, who lost his left foot and suffered a severe injury to his right leg after being hit by Israeli shelling in May, lies in a tent in Zawaida, central Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A prosthetic leg made for Fadi al-Balbisi, 12, whose right leg was amputated after a shell fired by the Israeli army on April 28, sits before a training session at Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Fadi al-Balbisi, 12, whose right leg was amputated after a shell fired by the Israeli army on April 28, receives rehabilitation training with a prosthetic leg at Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Yassin Marouf, 23, who lost his left foot and suffered a severe injury to his right leg after being hit by Israeli shelling in May, lies in a tent surrounded by his family in Zawaida, central Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Fadi al-Balbisi, 12, whose right leg was amputated after a shell fired by the Israeli army on April 28, walks on crutches back home after receiving rehabilitation training with a prosthetic leg at Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mohammed Al-Samri, 14, carries his older brother Youssef, 16, who lost his legs while fetching water near their home after an Israeli airstrike in May, in the kindergarten where he was displaced in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Haneen al-Mabhouh, 34, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike on her home that also killed all four of her daughters, including her 5-month-old baby, shows a photo of one of her daughters on a cellphone while sitting in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Youssef al-Samri, 16, who lost his legs while fetching water near his home after an Israeli airstrike in May, walks on his hands in the kindergarten where he was displaced in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Yassin Marouf, 23, second from right, who lost his left foot and suffered a severe injury to his right leg after Israeli shelling in May, sits on a mattress in a tent surrounded by family and neighbors in Zawaida, central Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Youssef al-Samri, 16, who lost his legs while fetching water near his home after an Israeli airstrike in May, lies on the floor of a classroom in the kindergarten where he was displaced in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Prosthetic limb technician Ahmed Al-Ashqar, 34, prepares a leg amputation splint in the first stage of building an artificial leg at Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Fadi al-Balbisi, 12, whose right leg was amputated after a shell fired by the Israeli army April 28, tries a prosthetic limb during rehabilitation training at Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Haneen al-Mabhouh, 34, who lost her leg in an Israeli strike on her home that also killed all four of her daughters, including her 5-month-old baby, sits in a wheelchair in her family home in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Fadi al-Balbisi, 12, whose right leg was amputated after a shell fired by the Israeli army on April 28, receives rehabilitation training with a prosthetic leg at Hamad Hospital in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Youssef al-Samri, 16, who lost his legs while fetching water near his home after an Israeli airstrike in May, sits in a wheelchair in the playground of the kindergarten where he was displaced in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, Gaza City, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Yassin Marouf, 23, who lost his left foot and suffered a severe injury to his right leg after being hit by Israeli shelling in May, lies in a tent surrounded by his family in Zawaida, central Gaza, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is ordering one of Manhattan’s largest hospitals to resume providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth, weeks after the hospital ended such treatments amid funding threats from the federal government.

In a letter sent to NYU Langone, the attorney general’s office said the hospital’s decision to shutter its Transgender Youth Health Program violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws by “jeopardizing access to medically necessary healthcare for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”

James’ office promised “further action” if the hospital does not immediately resume offering hormone therapies, puberty blockers and other care to transgender youth.

A spokesperson for NYU Langone declined to comment on the letter, which was sent on Feb. 25 but first made public this week.

One of the city’s largest hospital systems, NYU Langone announced last month that it would phase out certain gender-affirming treatments for patients under the age of 19 because of the “current regulatory environment” and recent departure of a medical director.

“We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change,” the hospital said at the time.

The move came weeks after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a proposal to cut federal Medicaid and Medicare funding to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors, part of a suite of regulatory actions targeting transgender Americans.

The proposals, however, did not officially change federal law, and did not impact a “medical institutions’ existing duties and obligations under New York law,” according to the Feb. 25 letter signed by the attorney general’s health care bureau chief, Darsana Srinivasan.

“The sudden discontinuation of medically necessary transgender healthcare can have severe, negative health outcomes,” Srinivasan added. “Accordingly, the Attorney General is extremely concerned by your institution’s decision to cease the provision of care to this vulnerable, minority population.”

The letter gives NYU Langone until March 11 to demonstrate its compliance.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to say what steps it would take if the hospital does not change its policy.

Several hospitals across the country have already paused transgender youth treatments following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year that promised to withhold research and education grants to hospitals that allow the “chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”

The move — along with language used in the letter — was roundly condemned by trans groups and major medical associations.

“This sets a very dangerous precedent for all areas of health care, if the government can cherry-pick one area of medicine to use to withhold necessary funding from entire groups of people,” Dr. Scott Leibowitz, a psychiatrist and board member for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, said at the time.

FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James attends a news conference, Dec. 15, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)