More than 10 children on average have lost one or both of their legs every day in Gaza since the start of the war, with many amputations carried out without anesthesia, a charity said on Sunday, highlighting the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave..

In a statement citing United Nations statistics, its director Save the Children for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jason Lee, said that “the suffering of children in this conflict is unimaginable and all the more so because it is unnecessary and could have been avoided.”

“The killing and mutilation of children is condemned as a serious violation of children’s rights and the perpetrators must be held accountable,” he said.

Save the Children cited statements from its spokesperson UNICEF James Elder, who after returning from Gaza, said about 1,000 children have lost one or both legs since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and war broke out.

The charity also cited a World Health Organization statement in which the agency said many of the amputations on children were carried out without anesthesia, given the severe shortages of medical supplies and basic goods in Gaza.