Mahmoud Abu Ansir, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, talks about his love for football before the Israeli artillery fire in Gaza took his leg and stole his dreams. He is one of more than 450 Palestinians receiving care and prosthetics at a medical center in Amman and Gaza, part of the Jordan Hope Community Rehabilitation Initiative.
War Wounds and Hope for Recovery
On October 31, 2025, during a ceasefire in Gaza that was established that month, Mahmoud Abu Ansir was looking for wood for a fire in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, when a bullet struck his right leg. Given the devastation of Gaza's healthcare system after three years of war, he was forced to undergo an amputation below the knee. Mahmoud recalls, "The doctor told me: We have to amputate your leg." He also mentions his mother's reaction, who said, "This is his spirit; what will he do if he wants to go outside, play football, or go to the beach? Amputating his leg is a sin."
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Challenges of Life After War
Mahmoud still remembers how he waited for half an hour for a carriage to take him to Al-Aqsa Hospital. He was transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where he spent two weeks. He is still saddened by the loss of his sports equipment and five footballs that were lost during the destruction of his home.
Zuhdi Abushanab, a 17-year-old, also shares about the incident that led to his leg amputation at the Amman center. On September 8, 2025, while shopping for his mother, he encountered a friend, and at that moment, an airstrike targeted him and others. Zuhdi was taken to the hospital after losing consciousness and faced an infection in his leg veins that led to his amputation. He despairingly states about the destruction of the war: "The war has devastated us and separated us from our friends... nothing is left."
Abdulrahman Rayhan, another injured youth, lost his ability to walk in a bombing that destroyed his home in Jabalia on the morning of January 12, 2025. He and his father sustained severe injuries and were subsequently transferred to several hospitals in Gaza. Abdulrahman shares about the hardships of this war: "This war was very hard for us." His father, Imad Rayhan, who lost his left leg, emphasizes: "Nothing can describe the realities we saw with our own eyes."
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