Three-month-old Mohammad (also reported as Mohammed) Al-Khatib of Gaza suffered life-altering injuries in a strike that killed his mother while she was breastfeeding him. According to family accounts and medical reports, the incident occurred in a tent housing displaced people in the Khan Younis area of southern Gaza. Shrapnel from the blast struck the mother fatally and severely wounded the infant she was holding.

Doctors in Gaza performed multiple surgeries on the baby. A blast injury to his left leg necessitated a below-knee amputation. He also sustained serious burns and extensive tissue damage to his left hand, which medical staff have warned remains at risk of amputation due to the severity of the injuries and limited available resources. The infant has undergone several procedures in a short period while being treated under strained hospital conditions.

Family members, including his father Suhail Al-Khatib and grandmother, have described the ongoing struggle to care for him. Relatives and medical staff have repeatedly stated that Mohammad urgently requires specialised treatment and medical evacuation outside Gaza to prevent further loss of limbs and to improve his long-term prospects. Gaza’s healthcare system has been operating under severe shortages of equipment, medicines, and specialist surgical capacity amid the broader conflict, making complex reconstructive and limb-saving care extremely difficult.

Mohammad’s case has drawn attention to the rising number of child amputees among the wounded in Gaza. While local medical teams have done what they can with the resources at hand, advocates and family continue to call for urgent international medical transfer so the infant can receive the advanced care needed to stabilise his condition and preserve what remains of his injured limbs.

Sources

• Reports and updates from Gaza medical staff, family statements (including father Suhail Al-Khatib), and coverage by TRT World, Safa News Agency, and related Gaza-based outlets documenting Mohammad Al-Khatib’s injuries, surgeries, and calls for evacuation (May–June 2026)