3 December 2024
Imagine trying to escape from airstrikes or bombing, but you can’t hear any of the sounds around you. Or trying to evacuate your home, after being forcibly displaced, across dirt and damaged roads while using a wheelchair, if you haven't already lost it under the rubble of a bombed building. Or trying to tell how dirty the water you are drinking is, but you can’t see.
These are just some of the experiences of people with disabilities in Gaza over the past year. To mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, we spoke to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)’s Disability Programme Lead in Gaza, Loai Abu Saif, on the challenges facing people with disabilities who have been living through Israel’s ongoing military attacks and siege, and what MAP has been doing to help.
Before October 2023 there were an estimated 58,000 people with disabilities living in Gaza. They were already facing many serious challenges that significantly impacted their dignity and quality of life. These challenges included years of Israel’s blockade and restrictions, marginalisation in society and the level of stigma attached to disability.
There was also a lack of adequate medical services and healthcare, as well as a shortage of assistive devices, and inaccessible infrastructure. As a result, people with disabilities faced almost 100% unemployment rates and higher levels of poverty.
More than 104,000 people have now been injured due to Israeli military attacks since last October. Estimates so far have suggested that 25% of injured individuals need rehabilitation services. Among them, more than 2,000 suffer from spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries, while over 15,000 people are now living with disabilities as a result of the offensive. These numbers are expected to rise as the war on Palestinians in Gaza continues. There is now the highest number of child amputees than in modern history.
People with disabilities are often at higher risk of the impacts of conflict, and they face more significant barriers to accessing safety and humanitarian assistance. This puts them at an increased risk of serious injuries or death, sexual assault and other forms of harm and violations.
Since Israel’s military attacks on Gaza began in October 2023, it can be more difficult for people with disabilities to identify when an attack is happening or to be able to flee from it. This is especially the case for people with physical disabilities, or who use devices like wheelchairs, to navigate bombed buildings and damaged roads. Or for people with visual disabilities or hearing disabilities to identify explosions or know where to go.
During emergencies much of the information and humanitarian services do not tend to be accessible for people with disabilities, including shelters and access to support and medical care.
People with disabilities across Gaza have reported to us that they expect that they will be the first or the next to be killed during Israeli military attacks due to their limited opportunities to evacuate or flee. It has taken a huge toll on many people’s mental health.
Throughout the last year, people across Gaza have been subjected to frequent forced displacement orders by the Israeli military. These can often be last-minute, and immediate, with a risk of the area very rapidly coming under attack, so people have to be able to move quickly. This can be very difficult for people with physical or sensory disabilities. For example, if flyers are dropped warning of an evacuation, these cannot be read by people who have visual disabilities. People who are deaf may not hear incoming rockets, sirens or shouted warnings.
For some people it is simply not possible to easily move around or evacuate from their homes, particularly if they need specialised equipment. There are almost no proper roads or pavements left in Gaza, which makes movement very challenging.
Some people with disabilities have been displaced more than ten times. During an evacuation, people have to move immediately and are not always able to carry everything with them. The chaos and disruption can mean assistive devices become broken or medicines are lost under the rubble.
Many people with disabilities have been separated from their family, friends and caregivers. This includes children with disabilities who face a terrifying and dangerous experience. They also get separated from the institutions, organisations and communities that would advocate for their rights and provide them with daily services.
It has been unbelievably challenging for people to get the services and devices they need to live properly and there has been immense suffering because of this.
The number of people with injuries who need assistive devices and support is greatly exceeding the stocks currently available in Gaza. There is a huge demand for wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, hearing aids and other items. Rehabilitation and medical services have also been decimated, with every hospital in Gaza impacted by Israel’s military attacks and siege, and no fully functioning hospitals left.
In August 2024, MAP started a project to address the critical needs of people with physical disabilities, in partnership with the Ministry of Health. The project aims to provide multidisciplinary rehabilitation services, dignity and hygiene kits and assistive devices. It focuses on enhancing mobility, independence and psychosocial wellbeing. We have planned to distribute around 6,000 assistive devices to people in the north and south of Gaza.
MAP has contributed to the rehabilitation of the outpatient physiotherapy department at Nasser Hospital. Here, Ministry of Health staff returned to provide critical services for children with cerebral palsy, torticollis, people with cerebral vascular accidents, peripheral nerve injury and others in need. This life-changing work is expected to significantly enhance the quality of life of these people and their families.
We have also partnered with Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children to provide audiological care, mental health and psychosocial support services for people who have been forced from their homes. Through the project, we will conduct hearing screenings for 12,000 children and adults in displacement shelters across Gaza, identifying those requiring further support and providing hearing aids to around 650 of those in need. We will also offer speech therapy sessions to children with speech disorders, improving their communication skills and supporting them to better integrate into household and community life.
MAP is also actively working in this area to form more partnerships with local NGOs to strengthen their abilities to effectively address the urgent basic needs of people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups during emergencies. This includes providing relief interventions, rehabilitation, medical care, economic empowerment, advocacy, rights promotion, and inclusive education.
Bana, a 15-year-old, who has received support, said: “The medical team helped me discover a very important problem in my hearing when they came to the shelter and made the screening here.”
Sarah, aged 4, also shared: “I love speech therapy sessions; I love learning new letters.”
We are working to plug the shortages that are faced by people here, as the demand is so high and growing, as more and more people are becoming disabled as a result of Israel’s military attacks and barriers in the surrounding environment.
With your help, MAP can continue to provide vital support to Palestinians with disabilities in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
Photo: Raseel, 10, an internally displaced child, walks home with her walker after receiving wound care and physiotherapy at MAP’s Solidarity Polyclinic in Deir al Balah. (Credit Palm Media / MAP).
