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The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. Since the Israeli bombardment began in the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7 spree of atrocities, tends of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and entire blocks flattened. The global outcry has been fierce, but in our outrage against this mass destruction, we must not forget those most vulnerable at this or any time: people with disabilities.
In the already extremely dangerous Gaza Strip, the risk to Palestinians with disabilities is higher by an order of magnitude. People with disabilities are often the first to lose their lives during wartime. It is much harder for them to evacuate or move quickly without the accommodations they need. Even when the Israeli Defense Force notifies Gazans that it intends to bomb a neighborhood or building, or when the IDF opens humanitarian corridors, people with disabilities too often cannot leave.
Even for those able to leave their homes, the horror is magnified, as Human Rights Watch found in interviews with Palestinians with disabilities in Gaza. "Those able to evacuate described the dread of having to leave their homes, which had been designed to meet their accessibility and adaptability requirements, as well as their assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, walkers, and hearing aids," Human Rights Watch explained. "They also raised concerns about not having access to essential medication and the impact on their mental health. They and hundreds of thousands of others have been forced into overcrowded emergency shelters; mostly health facilities and schools, lacking sufficient access to water, food, and sanitation."
The irony is that many Palestinians are disabled due to Israeli bombardments in past wars, like Samih Al Masri, a 50-year-old man who told HRW that he had lost his legs in 2008 to an Israeli drone strike and was sheltering at al-Quds hospital in Gaza City. "If they bomb the hospital, I will be dead. I know I cannot move," he said.
People with disabilities, who even in normal situations face exclusion, are even more excluded during crises and wars, though they are the most vulnerable to danger, have the least chance of survival, and are often the last to be evacuated or rescued.
In Gaza, if the residents of a house sense a raid or are alerted to evacuate, the opportunity for wheelchair users to escape is almost non-existent, unless they are being carried while shells are raining down from every direction. This, of course, poses a danger no less than the danger of remaining in the targeted house. Now think of a person who is deaf, or blind. Who alerts them to danger, or helps them escape it? Even if they know and realize that there is an approaching danger, there is no way to escape and run in such circumstances.
And what are the chances that someone deaf or blind will be rescued from beneath the rubble when they can't hear those calling for them or see signs of approaching help? And of the nearly 2 million people due to this war, those with disabilities among them face the greatest challenges. Even reaching and using toilets in such circumstances is an almost impossible task.
This situation is only being exacerbated day by day. Not only have thousands of people with disabilities likely been killed, but tens of thousands more have been creased. Of 52,000 wounded in Gaza since Israel's bombardment began, tens of thousands will now live their lives with one or more disabilities.
Meanwhile, epilepsy medications, psychiatric medications, and medications needed by people with autism, as well as wheelchairs, crutches, and other supportive tools were not on the list of medical aid that passed through the Rafah crossing.
A Palestinian child who lost his right arm in an Israeli strike told an interviewer, "I was hoping to become a photographer when I grow up. Now I will not become a photographer. I don't even know how I can live without my arm."
His painful message expresses the condition of tens of thousands of people who now have a disability in Gaza.
Dr. Muhannad Alazzeh is a former member of the Jordanian Senate and a human rights expert.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
