British-Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah says he is working 'against the clock' to save children wounded in Israeli bombardments in Lebanon. At the American University of Beirut Medical Center, his paediatric intensive care unit has been flooded with critical cases, including children suffering amputations, brain injuries and severe shrapnel wounds. Lebanese authorities report that at least 118 children have been killed and hundreds more injured since the escalation began in early March.

Abu-Sittah, a plastic surgeon specialising in conflict injuries, described performing repeated surgeries on severely wounded children, including three sisters who must return to the operating room every 48 hours. Born to a Palestinian refugee father and Lebanese mother, he has spent decades treating civilians in war zones across the region and says that while conflict has become an 'endemic disease', the suffering of children never becomes routine.

He warned that attacks on health facilities and ambulances have made transferring critically injured children dangerous, with some dying before reaching adequately equipped hospitals. Through a fund he established in 2024, Abu-Sittah aims to provide long-term medical and psychological care for young survivors, many of whom have lost family members and face lasting trauma beyond their physical wounds.