As with all wars, the war in Gaza is being measured by its dead. According to a UN report published three days ago, nearly 1800 Palestinians have died in this latest war on Gaza, 377 of them children (although by now, the numbers will already be a bit higher).

There are several campaigns and initiatives to humanize these latest victims of Israeli aggression, in an attempt to make sure that they are not just numbers to fall into the chasms of history but rather human beings with names and stories.

But we must also measure this war by its injured, lest we forget about Gaza when the bombing stops. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has also reported that nearly a third of the 9000 who have been injured are children.

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Here we must be clear, these injuries are not scrapes and bruises. These are serious, life altering injuries, including amputations, the loss of eyes, and brain damage. And all in the name of Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.

Just two days ago I visited St Joseph’s hospital in my neighborhood in East Jerusalem and I saw no terrorists. Instead I saw children with truly terrible injuries.

One, was a 14 year-old girl who was crying out in pain from a seriously infected leg. In Gaza, the hospital had put a cast on it but the soft tissue had become infected. The staff at St Joseph were trying to save her leg. We were subsequently told by the nurses that the girl’s mother had died in a bombing but she had not been told yet.

Many of the children had vacant hollow eyes, staring at the walls oblivious to their many East Jerusalemite visitors. Our visit with simple presents seemed futile, especially as most of them would be returning to Gaza after receiving the care that they needed. How could we hope to alleviate their suffering even for a moment when on the horizon is their return to an apocalyptic prison?

In pictures: The children of Gaza Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: The children of Gaza In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children playing at one of the Canaan Institutes outreach programs in Retal Kindergarten. This was their first day back since the war began In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children playing on the swings at one of the Canaan Institutes outreach programs in Retal Kindergarten In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Animators dress up in bear costumes and entertain the children at one of the Canaan Institutes outreach programs in Retal Kindergarten In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Issa Saaba, the director and founder of the Canaan Institute, Gaza City In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza A family digs through the rubble of their home in search for the bodies of relatives still buried inside. Beit Hanoun saw some of the heaviest fighting of the 51 day war with much of the neighborhood totally destroyed In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza This family from Sujayea had been digging for 4 days in the blistering heat attempting to recover some of their brothers recent wedding presents from inside their destroyed home. The densely populated district of Sujayea near the border with Israel was the scene of much of the worst fighting In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza This family from Sujayea had been digging for 4 days in the blistering heat attempting to recover some of their brothers recent wedding presents from inside their destroyed home. The densely populated district of Sujayea near the border with Israel was the scene of much of the worst fighting In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza The first day back to school and the streets of Gaza City are filled with children in the morning. The first 2 weeks were dedicated solely to psycho social support In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children sneaking a look at the performance taking place at one of the UNRWA schools in Gaza City on the first day back at school. The first 2 weeks were dedicated solely to psycho social support In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza The performance taking place at one of the UNRWA schools in Gaza City on the first day back at school. The first 2 weeks were dedicated solely to psycho social support In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza The birthday party of Umer at the Never Stop Dreaming Center, Gaza City. This event was funded by HOPE AND PLAY from a donation by Umer's parents who live in the UK In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children enjoying the last light on the beach, Gaza City. During the war no one dared venture onto the beach for fear of being targeted In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza On the weekends hundreds of people gather at the port as night falls to socialize, relax and swim In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza A young man kicks rocks past destroyed homes in Shujayea, one of the worst hit areas in Gaza City where unexploded ordnances are still an ever present threat In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza One of the children from the outreach program in at youth centre in northern Gaza close to the border with Israel In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza The home of young boy from Beit Hanoun was badly damaged by a drone attack. His family offered us what little food they had as ate with them on the street, shaded by what remained of their home In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Animators lead the children through one of their games in an outreach program at youth centre in northern Gaza close to the border with Israel In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Some children from a bedouin area in Eastern Gaza perform some of their dance routines for the rest of the class In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children from the Camp Breakerz dance crew show off their moves as Sharky looks on. Sharky started camp breakerz in 2012 and now it has dozens of children attending on a regular basis. Its a chance for them to let off a bit of steam as there are minimal extracurricular activities for children growing up in Gaza today In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Dr’s from the Gaza Community Mental Health Program meet with a traumatised family in Gaza City who lost their father In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Salma, who was traumatised, receives treatment at her home from the Gaza Community Mental Health Program in Gaza City. She had lost her 18 of her fmaily members when their family home was bombed In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children playing at the Nawa for Culture and Arts Association, Gaza City. The center was started in 2013 by Reem Abu Jabr and now helps dozens of children with various activities such as arts and crafts and dancing In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Teachers sing with the young children at Childrens Land kindergarden in the bedouin village of Um al Nasser. This kindergarden, after taking on the children from another kindergarden, is now over crowded. The 'Land of the Children' kindegarten was bombed and then bulldozed by the IDF during the most recent offensive. Over 26 schools in Gaza were destroyed during the 51 day war and 232 were damaged In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Zaher Hania one of the Canaan Institutes Animators captivates the children during an early evening in Zana, an area in the North of Gaza that was badly destroyed In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza People from Zana in the North of Gaza point at where their playground was destroyed In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Prayer continues in this Mosque in Zana despite its terrible damage In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children from a Judo School in Gaza City perform some of what they've learnt in the graduation ceremony In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music practice their music. Many kids find music a way to escape the suffering and pain of the war In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music practice their music. Many kids find music a way to escape the suffering and pain of the war In pictures: The children of Gaza Gaza Children playing along the Corniche in Gaza city. On the weekends people from all over Gaza City come to the corniche to relax, socialize and enjoy the cooler part of the day at the beach. During the war no one dared venture onto the beach for fear of being targeted

Then there was Ahmed, a boy of 17 with seemingly paralyzed legs after being bombed on the doorstep of his house. I gave him a notebook and some pencils. He immediately began drawing something. I asked to see it, it was a heart with an arrow through it. He then folded the paper up several times and placed it under his pillow.

We talked to his mother, offering her what felt like empty words of solidarity. One of my companions said; “we’ve seen what you are going through on TV”. Ahmed looked up and said to us; “You’ve seen it on TV. We see it with our own eyes.”

An OCHA assessment is that 373,000 children are in serious need of physco-social support. Children like Ahmed who have seen their parents, siblings or cousins die before their very eyes. This trauma will no doubt last a lifetime.

So let us remember that the casualties of this war on Gaza are not just those who were brutally killed by Israeli Occupation Forces. They are also those who are left behind. Those who suffer from injuries that Gaza could barely cope with before and most certainly can’t now.

When this assault is over, their lives will remain impossibly difficult. They will need aid in the form of doctors, medical supplies and material to rebuild infrastructure. But most importantly they will need to be granted basic human rights if they are ever to recover. Rights that can only come with an end to the siege of Gaza and occupation of Palestine.