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1.2 Injuries in hospitalised patientsAmong the 68 hospitalised patients interviewed by the team, the vast majorityrequired some form of surgical intervention: internal fixation of fractures, debridementof wounds, packing of deep soft tissue craters, decompression of head trauma, etc.Among these hospitalised patients, the following categories of physical injuries wererecorded: 4Type of injuryNumber of patientsLimb fractures 27Amputations 10Soft tissue wounds 14Extensive burns 18Foreign penetrating objects (mainly shrapnel; 2 34bullet wounds)Head trauma / brain damage 16Spinal injuries 4More than one category 30These findings of serious and in many cases multiple injuries are consistent withinformation received from the Head Nurse of the Emergency Department of ShifaHospital in Gaza City, 5 who characterised the pattern of injuries as follows:Combinations of burns, shrapnel, deep wounds and amputation in the samepatient; crush injuries because of houses collapsing over their dwellers; abrasions,lacerations and very high amputations; and serious burns.An observation of ICU patients made by the first FFM team at Shifa Hospital in GazaCity on 20 August 2014, while the attacks were still taking place, showed similarpatterns of injury. 6 Approximately 50 cases transferred to St Joseph Hospital, EastJerusalem were described by hospital staff as having ‘burns, multiple fractures,abdominal wounds, head and brain trauma.’ 7 At Medinat Hussein Al Tibbeya inAmman, Jordan, 8 injuries were described as ‘mainly war injuries because of explosionor crush.’ Staff at the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation in Beit Jala reportedadmitting mainly people with amputations and complex lung injuries from shrapnel. 94Orally and by medical observation and/or documentation.5Interview held on 20 Aug 2014 by AV and LBR.6Visit held 20 Aug 2014. Three patients, all young males injured in the war: one with trauma to the entire left side of his bodywith open abdominal wounds; disarticulation of left lower limb at the hip; and perforated sigmoid colon secondary to shrapnel,now with stoma. Second patient with crush syndrome with severe soft tissue injuries and bilateral compartment syndrome ofboth lower limbs; status post bilateral fasciotomy. Third patient with open chest injury on the right side.7Interview held on 22 Aug 2014 with Dr. Maher Al Deeb, Director of St Joseph Hospital, an 80-bed hospital in Sheikh Jarrah,East Jerusalem by the first FFM team and PHR-Israel staff. Note this interview was held 4 days before the ceasefire of 26 Aug2014, and the hospital may have received additional patients after that date.8Interview with Emad Tawil, Head ICU Nurse held on 30 Aug 2014 by AV.9Interview held on 4 Aug 2014 with AV and PHR-Israel staff.31