Rehabilitation needs and challenges in Gaza strip (Palestine) after the ceasefire: A call for coordinated action

Tens of thousands of people suffered serious, life-altering injuries as a result of the humanitarian and health crises caused by the fighting in the Gaza Strip (Palestine) (October 2023-October 2025). The rehabilitation system is on the verge of collapse due to the majority of rehabilitation facilities collapsing, the scarcity of assistive technology, and the severe lack of qualified personnel. As a key element of Gaza's recovery, this brief report emphasized the urgent need for concerted international action to develop rehabilitation capability. It suggests creating a task force headed by the UN and co-chaired by the World Health Organization and an impartial donor. The task force would be organized around four operational pillars: workforce development, infrastructure and sanitation, logistics and supply chains, and clinical rehabilitation services. Restoring trauma and wound care services, reopening facilities for orthotics and prosthetics, tele-rehabilitation, and growing community-based rehabilitation programs are among the priority initiatives. Using focused strategies to engage the Palestinian diaspora could improve sustainability and capacity building. Resolving the interrelated problems of functional disability, public health decline, and infrastructure destruction calls for a coordinated, transparent, and data-driven strategy. Therefore, in order to restore autonomy, dignity, and long-term resilience for Gaza's damaged population, rehabilitation must be integrated into larger humanitarian, rebuilding, and public health efforts.