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More than 10 children on average have lost one or both of their legs every day in Gaza since October 7, with many amputations performed without anesthesia, a charity said Sunday, underscoring the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave following more than three months of Israeli bombardment.

In a statement citing United Nations statistics, Save the Children’s director for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jason Lee, said the “suffering of children in this conflict is unimaginable and even more so because it is unnecessary and completely avoidable”, CNN reported.

“The killing and maiming of children is condemned as a grave violation against children, and perpetrators must be held to account,” he said.

Save the Children referenced remarks from UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who after returning from Gaza, said on December 19 that around 1,000 children had lost one or both of their legs since October 7, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel and war broke out.

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