GAZA, (PIC)
“I have been sleeping in a wheelchair for over a year. If I had known I would live this suffering, I would have just waited for death at home,” describes (A.M.), a man in his fifties who is paralyzed and suffers from quadriplegia. He pushed his daughters to flee to southern Gaza at the start of the war, preferring to stay with his blind wife so as not to be a burden on them.
As airstrikes intensified, (A.M.) and his wife sought refuge on October 10, 2023, at the Jabalia Society for the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, where he works, believing it would be safer since it is a building affiliated with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Since that day, the war has not allowed (A.M.) to catch his breath. He has moved within Jabalia more than five times with each incursion into the camp. “I have been sleeping in a wheelchair for over a year. My suffering intensified during the latest incursion into the Jabalia camp. It’s a journey of torment; had I known this suffering, I would have preferred to wait for death in Jabalia rather than face the path of displacement and humiliation towards western Gaza.”
(A.M.) and his blind wife had to cover more than 1,000 meters through a very dangerous route, constantly subjected to random gunfire from drones, and filled with potholes. He struggles to drag himself in his wheelchair, while his wife cannot see any obstacles in front of her, and they have no means of transportation.
He adds, “We passed a military checkpoint, and the soldiers called me and my wife for a security check, ordering us to throw away all the food and blankets we carried and to dispose of my assistive devices. With great difficulty, I accidentally met a relative upon reaching western Gaza who helped me find shelter, as I had nothing and nowhere to go.”
Today, (A.M.) finds himself, after 14 months of ongoing genocide, in the home of a relative, barely managing to get by. He has lost access to the medications he used to get from pharmacies and suffers from serious physical and psychological complications.
(A.M.)’s testimony was included in a report by the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, coinciding with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated worldwide on December 3 each year.
The United Nations announced a slogan for this year’s events: “Nothing About Us Without Us,” symbolically highlighting the fundamental requirements for participation, representation, and inclusion. It calls on persons with disabilities to actively shape their living conditions. “This slogan has been destroyed by the occupying forces, which have increased the number of persons with disabilities due to injuries sustained from military attacks targeting civilians, thus destroying any chance for them to participate or even survive,” according to the report.
In another testimony, Osama Abu Safar, who has a mobility disability, recounts the suffering of himself and his family with displacement since the war began. On October 12, 2023, an Israeli strike targeted the area where he lives, leading him to flee for the first time to one of the UNRWA schools. Less than two weeks later, a complete area near the school was bombed, forcing him and his family to flee again.
Abu Safar (42 years old) is married with three children and suffers from amputations in both feet. He has been displaced from the central region more than four times. He says: “My suffering during displacement was in carrying my children and our belongings, and our inability to move from one place to another easily. My hardship increased due to living in a tent without a bathroom, and reaching public bathrooms required me to move a long distance through sand.”
Limited access to services
The Al-Mezan report indicates that people with disabilities of all types (mobility, hearing, visual) are suffering severely amidst the hunger that has spread among all residents of the Gaza Strip, compounded by the lack of rehabilitation services and assistive devices, which deprived them of any opportunity to access water, food, and medicine.
The report highlights the current famine’s risk of causing permanent disabilities in newborns due to the lack of healthcare and nutrition for pregnant women and children. Many mothers can no longer breastfeed, and there are no alternatives for infants, which will have serious consequences for the health of fetuses and the future health of newborns.
The report says that the occupying forces have focused their military attacks on targeting civilians, civilian objects, and infrastructure, including the destruction of rehabilitation centers that provide services and assistive devices for people with disabilities. This includes the Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in northern Gaza, the Al-Wafa Medical Rehabilitation Hospital—both its main location in Gaza City, which was previously destroyed, and its branch in Deir al-Balah, as well as the Medical Relief’s Assistive Devices Center, the headquarters of the Palestinian General Union of Persons with Disabilities in the northern governorate, associations for the deaf, and the Hope City for Capacity Building affiliated with the Red Crescent in Gaza. Even the only accessible rest area for people with disabilities on the northern Gaza beach has been destroyed.
The report emphasizes that before the genocide, people with disabilities had made significant strides in their efforts for participation and integration, establishing their own associations and local radio stations to address their concerns, and conducting numerous advocacy events to ensure their integration into the labor market and respect for Palestinian law. However, the occupying forces destroyed all institutions that provided services to people with disabilities or those they had established themselves.
20,000 disabled due to the war
The number of people with disabilities has increased due to Israeli military attacks, which have caused thousands to suffer permanent disabilities, in addition to congenital disabilities. Before the genocide, the number of people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip was 55,611, of whom 44.66% were female, and 17.44% were children.
According to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, mobility disabilities are the most prevalent, accounting for 53.67%, while visual impairments constitute 17.47%. A previous report from Al-Mezan indicated a frightening rise in the number of people with disabilities as the genocide continued, with the Israeli war causing 20,000 people to become disabled, including 5,000 who suffered permanent disabilities, 15% of whom are children. Additionally, 15,000 injuries require long-term rehabilitation and medical care to prevent them from becoming disabled, which has become extremely difficult due to the collapse of the healthcare system.
Earlier, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated at a press conference in Cairo that Gaza has the highest number of amputee children in the world relative to its population, adding that “hundreds of amputees are undergoing surgeries without anesthesia.” He noted that “what we are witnessing in Gaza is one of the most serious international crimes.”
Legal texts
International humanitarian law protects people with disabilities in armed conflicts, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention dedicated to protecting civilians during wartime and the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. International human rights law also guarantees their rights.
Article 11 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that member states, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law, must take “all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including armed conflict.”
Al-Mezan reminds the world of UN Security Council Resolution 2475, which refers to the protection of persons with disabilities under international law, reminding states of their obligations and urging all parties to armed conflicts to take measures to protect civilians and persons with disabilities.
Failure of the international system
The center emphasizes that the continued occupation and genocide for the 14th consecutive month “reflects the international system’s failure to stop it, as if it is tolerating its continuation, which threatens to further expose the injured to permanent disabilities due to amputations and severe sensory injuries, thus increasing the number of people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip.”
Al-Mezan has reiterated its repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire and for an end to the genocide against civilians in Gaza. It also renews its calls to the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to pressure Israel to implement Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire, increased humanitarian aid, and Resolution 2475.
The Al-Mezan Center also called for investigations into the crimes that have caused disabilities among civilians and the violations directed at persons with disabilities, which have deprived them of their most basic human needs, especially the destruction of institutions and hospitals that provide rehabilitation and healthcare services.
It urged UN agencies, international institutions, and all countries worldwide to intensify efforts for providing food and medical relief and focus on the urgent needs of persons with disabilities, particularly medications and assistive devices.
