At least 21,000 children in Gaza have been disabled since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, 2023, a United Nations committee has said.
On Wednesday, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said about 40,500 children had suffered “new war-related injuries” in the nearly two years since the war erupted, with more than half of them left disabled.
Reviewing the situation in the Palestinian territories, it said Israeli evacuation orders during the army’s offensive in Gaza were “often inaccessible” to people with hearing or visual impairments, “rendering evacuation impossible”.
“Reports also described people with disabilities being forced to flee in unsafe and undignified conditions, such as crawling through sand or mud without mobility assistance,” it said.
Meanwhile, the committee said the restrictions on humanitarian aid being brought into the Gaza Strip were disproportionately impacting the disabled.
“People with disabilities faced severe disruptions in assistance, leaving many without food, clean water, or sanitation and dependent on others for survival,” it said.
Physical obstacles, such as war debris and the loss of mobility aids under the rubble, further prevented people from reaching the relocated aid points.
The committee said that 83% of people with disabilities had lost their mobility aids, with most unable to afford alternatives such as donkey carts.
It expressed concern that items such as wheelchairs, walkers, canes, splints, and prosthetics were considered “dual-use items” by the Israeli authorities and were therefore not included in aid shipments.
The committee called for the delivery of “massive humanitarian assistance for persons with disabilities” affected by the war, insisting that all parties must take measures to protect persons with disabilities in order to prevent “further violence, harm, death, and deprivation of rights.”
It has been informed of at least 157,114 people who have suffered injuries, with more than 25% of them at risk of permanent disability, between October 7, 2023, and August 21 this year.
Israel must ensure that persons with disabilities “have the right to return safely to their homes and receive assistance to do so,” the committee added.