St. Olav Hospital Study Finds Nearly Half of Gaza Head‑Injury Patients Were Children

A study by doctors at Norway’s St. Olav Hospital examined 719 patients treated for penetrating head injuries at two hospitals in Gaza during the first nine months of 2025. Of those patients, 321 were children with a median age of 13 years, meaning almost one child was admitted daily with a brain injury.

More than 90% of the injuries were caused by shrapnel from explosive weapons, while roughly 10% resulted from gunshots. The mortality rate among the children was 30%, and only 17% underwent surgical intervention. Professor Sasha Gulati said the findings made her “very sad,” and Dr. Joakim Stray Andreassen noted the scale of the trauma had not been seen before, urging that the numbers spur change.