At least 21,000 children in Gaza have been left disabled since the war began on October 7, 2023, a UN committee has reported.

About 40,500 children have suffered "new injuries as a result of military action" in the nearly two years since the war began, with more than half of them left disabled, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said.

In reviewing the situation in the Palestinian territories, the committee noted that Israeli evacuation orders during the army's offensive in Gaza "were often inaccessible" to people with hearing or visual impairments, "making evacuation impossible," AFP reported.

"Reports also describe people with disabilities being forced to flee in dangerous and undignified conditions, such as crawling through sand or mud without mobility aids," the report said.

At the same time, the committee emphasized that restrictions on humanitarian aid delivered to the Gaza Strip have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities.

"People with disabilities faced severe disruptions in assistance, leaving many without food, clean water, or sanitation and dependent on others for their survival," the report said.

While the private humanitarian foundation for Gaza, supported by the US and Israel, has four distribution points in the territory, the UN system had nearly 400.

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.

There are at least 21,000 children with disabilities in Gaza as a result of injuries sustained after October 7, 2023.

Israel must take specific measures to protect children with disabilities from attacks and implement evacuation protocols that take people with disabilities into account.

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. | BGNES