THE Palestinian doctor Hani Bseiso faced a very difficult decision when his teenage niece was injured in the shelling of her home in Gaza by Israeli forces: amputate her leg or risk the girl bleeding to death.

Without being able to approach a neighboring hospital and using a pair of scissors and some gauze which he had in his medical bag cut off the right leg of little Ahed Bseiso from the knee down in a surgery that performed on the kitchen table without anesthesia.

Pixel-covered footage, which went viral on Instagram, shows the doctor to wipe the bloody severed right limb of the girl while he is lying on the table. One of her brothers holds her down so that another doesn’t move holds up two mobile phones with the lens open for her uncle to see.

The house is just 1.8km from Gaza Al Shifa Hospital, usually a six-minute drive or 25-minute walk, but Bseiso said heavy Israeli shelling in the area makes it very dangerous to try to reach the hospital.

“Unfortunately, I had no choice. My choice was either to let the girl die either to do what I can”he said in an interview with Reuters this week from the room where she had her leg amputated on December 19.

The Reuters she was unable to independently confirm what hit her home, why it was targeted, and what events preceded it.

“If I can take her to the hospital? Of course not”Bseiso replies, calling the area “under siege”. “The tanks were at the entrance of the house,” explains.

Israeli authorities say they are working to minimize civilian suffering.

Invited to comment on the events of December 19 the Israeli military did not specifically respond to questions about the incident at the girl’s homebut said Hamas was using the hospitals for cover, a claim denied by the group.

“A central feature of Hamas’ strategy is the exploitation of political structures for terrorist purposes. Specifically, it has been amply documented that Hamas uses the hospitals and medical centers for its terrorist acts by building military networks within and under facilities, launching attacks and storing weapons within hospital premises, using hospital structures and staff for terrorist acts. Unfortunately, Hamas continues to put Gaza’s most vulnerable citizens at grave risk by cynically using hospitals for terrorist acts.”the Israeli military said.

“Thank God”

Akhed Bseiso, 18, is one of a generation of young amputees born out of the war in Gazasince Hamas gunmen attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to an Israeli count.

Doctors say that many of those who have since been killed in the Gaza Strip could have been saved if they had been able to reach the hospital.

Lying in bed several weeks after her amputation, Ahed Bseiso tells Reuters that, on the day of her injury, she found an Israeli tank near her home when she went outside at about 10.30am to find a signal on her mobile phone and call her father who lives abroad.

She and her sister went inside the house and drew the curtains in case it was bombed. Shortly after, the building was bombed and she was injured, as she describes. She found she could not feel her leg when relatives tried to help her by removing fragments.

“They laid me on the dining room table. There was no medical equipment. My uncle saw the dish sponge, a wire, dishwashing liquid and bleach (disinfectant). He got them too she started rubbing my leg. He amputated it for me without anesthesia and without anything in the house”says the girl.

When asked how he endured the pain, he answers: “I was just saying ‘Thank God’ and reading the Koran. Thank God I didn’t feel much, but of course there was pain and the scene was shocking.” he adds.

Since, he has undergone further operations at the hospital to treat his injuries.

More than 24,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began in response to the Oct. 7 attack, Palestinian officials say.

Many others, including children, were amputated due to the severity of their injuries during the Israeli attacks, which according to the Israeli army, aim to eliminate Hamas and ensure the release of the remaining hostages.

Over 1,000 children in Gaza have had their legs amputated since the end of Novemberaccording to the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.

Poor sanitation and drug shortages further endanger people’s lives and doctors say supplies to hospitals are out of reach.