Trapped in Gaza: Palestinians with disabilities cannot reach aid

When Israeli forces in Gaza issue a new displacement order ahead of an incursion into a neighbourhood or city, Palestinian civilians are expected to pack their bags and flee – perhaps for the third, fourth, or tenth time. 

But for an increasing number of Palestinians, including those who cannot hear the orders or whose mobility is impaired, following these orders may be impossible. Yet, failure to do so, could cost them their lives.  

“In a normal situation, people with disabilities suffer the most. And in wartime, of course, the situation is heightened further,” said Muhannad Salah Al-Azzeh, member of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at a public dialogue this week in Geneva.  

With the number of disabled people in Gaza increasing every day, Mr. Al-Azzeh said that the minimum level of safety for people with disabilities is not being upheld.  

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No replacements for a broken hearing aid

Over 83 per cent of people with disabilities in Gaza do not have the assistive devices they need, including wheelchairs, hearing aids and other tools. And for those that do, the batteries which enable these devices to work are in very short supply.   

This makes it exponentially more difficult – if not impossible – for them to access healthcare and food.  

This shortage comes amidst an increasing number of people with disabilities. The UN Relief and Works Agency in Palestine (UNRWA) estimates that one in four Gazans has a new disability as a result of the war between Israeli forces and Hamas, which requires treatment and rehabilitation.

At least 35,000 people have “significant hearing damage” as a result of repeated explosions. And Ammar Dwaik, director-general of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human rights, said that an average of 15 children are newly disabled each day. According to some rights groups, Gaza has the largest number of child amputees in modern history.  

But with over 134,000 people having sustained conflict-related injuries – 40,500 of whom are children – the besieged and under-resourced healthcare system cannot keep up.  

“Hospitals, ambulances, and medical and humanitarian personnel have been systematically targeted, with over 1,580 health workers and 467 humanitarian staff killed,” UNRWA noted.

Aid out of reach

Seeking life-saving aid has become a life-threatening prospect for even the healthiest in Gaza. But for people with disabilities, is almost impossible, according to Hector Sharp, a representative from UNRWA at the meeting in Geneva.  

“Reaching [the distribution points] and needing to physically compete for this aid is difficult for all Palestinians, but all the more so for people with disabilities to whom aid is being effectively placed out of reach,” Mr. Sharp said.  

The US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund, for example, has only a handful of distribution points throughout the Gaza Strip since it bypasses all established UN and NGO operations, forcing people to walk long distances in the hopes of receiving meagre amounts of food.  

If people with mobility impairments do not have families or friends willing to retrieve aid for them, they may simply be unable to reach it, according to Mr. Al-Azzeh.

Key infrastructure destroyed

Since 1962, UNRWA has operated a rehabilitation centre for the visually impaired in the Gaza Strip. It was the only one of its kind and served, at any given time, over 500 children.  

“Today [the centre] lies in rubble,” Mr. Sharp said.  

The destruction of other civilian infrastructure throughout the Strip – including schools and hospitals – is impeding rehabilitation efforts for people with disabilities and further entrenching societal exclusion.  

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The UNRWA representative in Geneva noted the impact that shuttered schools will have on children with disabilities.  

“For children with disabilities the loss of inclusive education deepens the systematic inequalities and places them at a heightened risk of lifelong social and economic exclusion,” he said.  

Peace, the only answer 

Despite the challenges, UNRWA has continued to provide services to people with disabilities, including over 53,000 sessions of physiotherapy and assistive devices or rehabilitation services to 8,500 people since the beginning of the year.  

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has called on the Israeli authorities to allow in more assistive devices and technology both for people with existing disabilities and those who are sustaining new ones amidst the ongoing conflict.  

He also called for medical evacuations to be expanded in order to allow people with disabilities to obtain vital, specialised care. But ultimately, he said, the only lasting solution is to end the conflict.  

“Peace is the only way to stop the suffering of Palestinians, including those with disabilities.”