Israel-Palestine Conflict

International News

A tragedy within a tragedy: UN experts alarmed by harrowing conditions for Palestinians with disabilities trapped in Gaza:

”Persons with disabilities are being killed and injured by indiscriminate attacks despite posing no security threat, epitomising the deliberate assault on civilians by Israel,” (Oct, OHCHR)

Open letter to the international disability rights community on Gaza “As a human rights movement, the disability rights community cannot remain silent.”

“For Gazans with disabilities, the circumstances could not be worse: the complete collapse of basic vital services, displacement, starvation, disease, and indiscriminate bombing have created a nightmare scenario in which their very survival is jeopardized. Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid exacerbate the challenges they face, limiting access to food, medicine, assistive devices and other vital supplies. While no official numbers are available, many children and adults with disabilities have been killed, including long-time disability rights defenders Bader Mosleh and Hashem Ghazal.” (May, A collective of human rights activists)

Crip Call to Action: why disabled people living in the US need to be calling for a long lasting ceasefire in Israel-Palestine. (2023, Disability Visibility Project)

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India

India’s Disability Movement Must Stand with Palestine (Sep, News Click)

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Israel

Galilee center for kids with disabilities hit by an errant missile “Mevo’ot HaHermon Treatment and Rehabilitation Campus, closed since Oct. 8 and damaged by an errant missile, includes one of the largest hydrotherapy pools of its kind in Israel” (Aug, Times of Israel)

Disability rights groups campaign against UN unequal care of Israelis In a message to the UN conference of states parties on disability from Israeli NGO Beit Issie Shapiro (video):

“Much is said about the displaced with disabilities in Gaza. What about those from Israel? Tens of thousands of children and adults with disabilities have been forced to evacuate their homes. How are you promoting, protecting, and ensuring THEIR full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms?” (Jun, The Jerusalem Post)

Wounded IDF veterans find a home in Israel’s rehabilitation centers “According to Defense Ministry figures released on February 15, more than 5,500 wounded soldiers have entered the rehabilitation system since the beginning of the war. It is expected that there will be a total of 20,000 by the end of 2024.” (Mar, Times of Israel)

Israel Held 82-year-old Gaza Woman With Alzheimer's for Two Months as an 'Unlawful Combatant'.

“Israeli soldiers arrested Fahamiya Khalidi in early December at a school in Gaza after she fled her home due to IDF shelling. She was moved to Damon prison, where she was refused a meeting with an attorney and was only freed after an appeal” (Feb, Haaretz.com)

Thousands of Israelis amputated, disabled: “Around 2,000 Israeli civilians, soldiers and police officers have had limbs amputated or become disabled in other ways since Oct. 7.” (Jan, Intermountain Jewish News)

Predictions of number of Israeli soldiers that will acquire disabilities. “As of late December, the defence ministry said the number of Israeli soldiers injured since 7 October had reached 3,000, with the Israeli army saying over 2,300 have been disabled.” (Jan, Middle East Eye)

Israeli State Watchdogs Find Defense Ministry Has Neglected Disabled Veterans With PTSD “State comptroller finds that huge parts of the budget allocated to expand the rehabilitation department haven't been utilized, IDF veterans are unaware of their rights and plagued by bureaucratic hurdles, lack of digital accessibility” (Jan, Haaretz)

Paralympians to help war-wounded heal from trauma “A new initiative established by the Israel Sports Association for the Disabled and the Israel Paralympic Committee aims to help the wounded adapt to their new reality, both physically and mentally.” (2023, Israel 21c)

Young Israeli artists with disabilities express emotions amid war “Over the past few weeks, Shalva’s art therapists have guided adolescents and adults to express their feelings through a variety of art forms.” (2023, The Jerusalem Post)

Yad Sarah’s Jerusalem hotel hosts disabled, elderly evacuees for free. (2023, The Jerusalem Post)

55,000 Israelis with Disabilities Evacuated from Conflict Areas Figure quoted in a discussion, which also highlighted how new accommodations are often inaccessible and this is compounded by many staff and family carers being called up for military service. (2023, Cision)

Soldiers with disabilities recruiting for the war effort. “Anyone who puts these sweets and snacks in a carton is like firing a missile at Hamas and helping our soldiers.” (2023, Jerusalem Post)

Hamas hostages: Families 'worried sick' for relatives held in Gaza. "My mom is 79, she has diabetes. She uses insulin daily. My brother Nadav is also diabetic. So he takes pills for that condition, so the medication issue is really troubling and worrying." (2023, BBC)

Cognitive disabilities in the crossfire: “Creating a semblance of the routine, normalizing feelings and helping disabled people to contribute to the efforts has made all the difference.” (2023, Jerusalem Post)

He took his disabled daughter to the raves that gave her life. Hamas murdered both. (2023, i24 news)

Living through war experiences of blind women in Israel and Gaza. (Podcast, no transcript, 2023, BBC)

A disability lens on conflict: Israel and Gaza war Debrief feature on disabled victims of Hamas attacks, destruction in Gaza, and disability on different sides of the conflict. (2023, Disability Debrief)

Israeli special needs community struggles to cope with war victims of the 7th October attacks and response from disability organizations. (2023, Jerusalem Post)

Shalva National Crisis Response Center: centre for disabled people becomes a refuge for evacuees. (2023, Jerusalem Post)

Shalva Center opens bomb shelter for people with disabilities. (2022, Jerusalem Post)

Disabled Israeli Man Who Can’t Reach Bomb Shelter in Time Says He Feels Like ‘Cannon Fodder’ (2019, the Algemeiner)

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Palestine

“They Destroyed What Was Inside Us” A report on Children with Disabilities Amid Israel’s Attacks on Gaza. In the words of Ghazal, a 14-year-old girl with cerebral palsy in Gaza:

“From the day the war broke out, they destroyed what was inside us. They demolished my house and my room, which held all my memories. They took everything that helped me to live, like my devices, my boot, and my wheelchair. How can I go back to how I was without all this?” (Sep, Human Rights Watch)

Gaza's Deaf Community in the Face of Genocide “An anthropologist who works with deaf communities in the Arabic-speaking Middle East argues that ending Israel’s war on Gaza and occupation of Palestine is a matter of disability justice.” (Sep, Sapiens)

For Gazans with disabilities, Israel’s genocide shows no mercy:

“Feeling but not hearing the bombs, displaced without their specialized equipment, mauled by army dogs: this is how Palestinians with physical and cognitive impairments are surviving and dying amid Israel’s onslaught.” (Sep, +972)

Voice Notes from Palestine. Featuring testimonies of Gaza students living with disabilities. (Short video, Sep, AOAV)

Gaza’s Lost Generation The physical toll of Israel's war on Gaza has been disastrous, especially for children, with the strip's future permanently altered. (Aug, Tahrir Institute)

New Gaza camp offers relief for Palestinians with disabilities amid war “A newly opened camp for displaced Palestinians with disabilities is providing some much needed help for around 100 vulnerable people in the town of Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.” (Aug, MEMO)

How the War in Gaza Makes Life Nearly Impossible for Disabled People. An interview with a Humanity & Inclusion advocacy officer based in the West Bank:

“Some children think that their legs might grow again. This is one of the saddest things that we hear on a regular basis.” (Jul, Mother Jones)

Bassem al-Hebl, a deaf 27-year-old aspiring journalist from Gaza on reporting in sign-language. (Jul, Middle East Eye on X)

Gaza man with Down's syndrome attacked by IDF dog and left to die, mother says:

“The Israeli military has admitted that a Palestinian man with Down's syndrome who was attacked by an army dog in Gaza was left on his own by soldiers, after his family had been ordered to leave.” (Jul, BBC)

Shellshocked, attacked, left to die – this is the reality for disabled people in Gaza. “We endured months of hell to get our son, who has cerebral palsy, out of danger. For most, there is no escaping the horror”. (Jul, the Guardian)

Statement on the death of Muhammed Bhar in Gaza “we have received distressing updates about the conditions for children with Down syndrome, many of whom are reportedly severely malnourished.” (Jul, Down Syndrome International)

“In Gaza, we have been left behind” a blog from Haitham Saqqa on his experience of the war, and working with Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP):

“I am a person with a disability, I believe in the rights of people with disabilities, and promote this belief through education and training. However, I now decline offers to speak to media or other organisations, not because I do not believe in my cause but because I feel words are empty.

“Between January and March, there were no wheelchairs in Gaza. No one knows how the stocked wheelchairs were distributed, and people were using any available wheelchairs to transport water. This lack of wheelchairs made many people with disabilities unable to move around, so it was hard for organisations like MAP to assess their humanitarian needs or make any available services accessible to them. Even if wheelchairs were available, the scale of Israeli military violence has caused so much destruction that the streets are almost impossible to navigate on a wheelchair.” (Jun, Medical Aid for Palestinians)

My House Will Always Be Open - Stories from the Gaza Siege. The story of a disabled child and an older woman. “My mother put me in a wheelchair and pushed me for more than 10 kilometers amidst Israeli tanks and military vehicles,” (Jun, Palestine Chronicle)

Israel targets disabled Palestinian children’s futures “Israeli forces have critically injured thousands of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, creating lifelong disabilities” (Jun, Defense for Children International - Palestine)

Data and resources on the situation in Gaza for Persons with Disabilities a compilaton of data and challenges faced by persons with disabilities. (Jun, Breaking the silence on Gaza)

HI mourns tragic death of staff member in Gaza (Jun, Humanity and Inclusion)

What it means to be Deaf and Palestinian in Gaza (Jun, Overland)

“Everything has changed for her” “Palestinian children with disabilities targeted in Israeli genocide campaign” (Jun, DCI Palestine)

Palestinian NGO summary of “severe repercussions” of Israeli aggression in Gaza on the lives of people with disabilities:

“hundreds of people with disabilities have been martyred and thousands injured. Additionally, ten thousand citizens have sustained various disabilities due to the Israeli aggression, along with tens of thousands of displaced individuals with disabilities facing difficult displacement conditions and severe psychological trauma.” (Jun, Palestinian NGOs Network)

Gaza Mother Searches for Her Disabled Family among Rubble “For months, I have been searching for my deaf-mute son and his family, his wife and their two daughters, but I had no luck.” (May, Palestine Chronicle)

Abeer Harkali; A life shaped by the Israeli Army. the harrowing story of a wheelchair user who, before the war, had been a founding member of a wheelchair-users Dabke band. (May, Accessless)

Gaza mourns deaf activist Hashem Ghazal killed by Israel “Tributes have poured in for Hashem Ghazal, an accomplished carpenter and leading disability activist in the Gaza Strip, who was killed in an Israeli strike.” (May, The New Arab)

Worsening suffering of people with disabilities especially the deaf and mute. (Short video, in Arabic, May, Al Jazeera)

Palestinians with disabilities fear being killed first statement from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (May, OHCHR)

'He didn't understand, he was terrified': Disabled Palestinian man shot dead by IDF in Gaza hospital. “The 39-year-old, who had severe learning difficulties, had fled to the nearby Al Khair hospital with his parents and siblings after the apartment block where they lived was hit by an artillery strike.” (Mar, ITV News)

How Israeli army brutality killed a disabled Palestinian man “Ezz al-Din al-Banna was paralysed from the waist down, but Israeli soldiers beat and dragged him across the ground anyway” (Mar, Middle East Eye)

The Children Who Lost Limbs in Gaza (Mar, New Yorker)

Gazan Para-Cyclists deliver aid on bikes “With their dreams of competing at the Paris Paralympics shattered, the Gaza Sunbirds have pivoted to a full blown aid operation.” (Mar, New Internationalist)

People with disabilities and the war of starvation experiences of disabled people in Gaza. (In Arabic, Mar, Al Araby)

Inclusive Needs Assessment: Situation of the Conflict-affected Persons with and without Disabilities in the Gaza Strip (March 2024). (Mar, Atlafuna)

Israeli army forces family to leave 94-year-old grandmother behind Her daughter says she 'cannot move, eat, or drink alone'. (Mar, Middle East Eye) Social media reports she's been found dead.

Humanity & Inclusion's office in Gaza City destroyed

“The building is completely destroyed. No HI staff were present, but we do not have information about potential other victims in the surrounding areas. No alert or warning was given to HI, even though the coordinates of the building were duly communicated to the notification system put in place by the United Nations and Israeli forces to avoid the inadvertent targeting of humanitarian premises.” (Feb, Humanity & Inclusion)

Remembering Ibrahim Abu Thuraya: disabled Palestinian, rights activist, freedom fighter. “Despite of the prominence of his case — no one in the international disability rights community took any interest in him or the circumstances of his killing.” (Feb, Hernan Bonomo)

Double burden on people with disabilities displaced in Gaza. (In Arabic, Feb, Wafa)

Impact of the conflict on people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip. Thematic report summarising available information. (Feb, acaps)

Patients with chronic illnesses in Gaza failing to get treatment “The lack of medicine, food and water means thousands of people with asthma, kidney disease or diabetes are unable to treat or control their conditions” (Feb, the Guardian)

Gaza's child amputees face further risks without expert care “More than 1,000 children had undergone leg amputations, sometimes more than once or on both legs, by end-November, according to U.N. children's agency UNICEF” (Jan, Reuters)

'Mercy' flights provide critically wounded and sick Palestinians a chance to survive “Commercial planes are retrofitted with stretchers and beds to ferry patients on a four-hour trip from Egypt to Abu Dhabi to receive medical care.” (Jan, NBC News)

A young man with hearing disability and his family in the Gaza war, who have been displaced six times. (Signed, with Arabic and English subtitles, Jan, AlJazeera Arabic)

Video shows Israeli soldier shooting mentally disabled Palestinian in West Bank:

“When Tarek Abu Abed told the men that he did not have identification, an argument ensued that culminated in Tarek being shot, according to his brother.” (2023, CNN)

How do deaf people live in the Gaza strip during the war? A short video (In Arabic, 2023, BBC)

Disabled NZ resident battling to get out of Gaza “Despite Ghada Alree being unable to walk and reliant on family for mobility, New Zealand initially told her this week they would not allow her mother to be added to a list with her for evacuation from Gaza to Egypt.” (2023, NZ Herald)

Israeli Forces Attack Gaza Church Just Days Before Christmas The patriarchate said that the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa, part of the church compound was home to 54 disabled people. “The 54 disabled persons are currently displaced and without access to the respirators that some of them need to survive,” (2023, Huffpost)

Amputations, nerve injuries and fractures - New report on injuries caused by heavy bombing. (2023, Humanity & Inclusion)

New catastrophic plight in Gaza: Israel’s attacks leave more than 5,000 Palestinians disabled. (2023, Euro Med Monitor)

12-year-old Dunia lost her leg in an Israeli airstrike that killed her whole family. Dunia speaks in her recovery. She was killed a few weeks later. (2023, Defense for Children)

Gaza: Israeli Attacks, Blockade Devastating for People with Disabilities “The Israeli military’s major ground offensive in Gaza adds immeasurably to the serious difficulties for people with disabilities to flee, find shelter, and obtain water, food, medicine, and assistive devices they desperately need,” (2023, Human Rights Watch)

Horror in darkness: the plight of the visually impaired seeking refuge in UNRWA's schools.

“As a person with visual impairment, hearing the shelling around without being able to see it or know where it’s coming from. You are left to imagine that you are the target, your world engulfed in darkness and fear.” (2023, AOAV)

People With Disabilities in Gaza Suffer in Israel-Hamas War “People are homeless; some separated from their families, support systems and mobility devices, Shaheen said. Those with chronic illnesses, who need medical care, cannot receive it because hospitals are overflowing with critically injured patients, while others don’t have the funds to buy supplies such as catheters at pharmacies” (2023, Time)

I'm from Gaza but can't return home.

“I called a friend of mine the other day who has a physical disability, who has been sheltering at an overcrowded United Nations Relief and Works Agency school, within the evacuation zone. Over a lot of background noise, she told me, “I lost my wheelchair. If we are ordered to evacuate, I will not be able to run like everyone. I am so terrified.”” (2023, USA Today)

Inclusive Humanitarian Action - Gaza a factsheet, exploring the risks faced by disabled people and response needed. (2023, Handicap International)

“The planes bomb us. We are deaf so it scares us.” short video on the situation of Ahmed Abu Odeh and his wife Walaa, both deaf. The couple and their children are trying to survive Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. (2023, AJ+)

‘Where will I leave these children, on the street?’ The struggle for survival faced by disabled Palestinians in Gaza. (2023, CNN)

Palestinians with disabilities face hardship short video on the challenges disabled people are facing. (2023, Aljazeera English)

A Palestinian with disability among those reported killed by Israeli Forces in the Jenin Camp on the West Bank. (In Arabic, 2023, Alhurra)

The harsh reality of disabled people trying to survive war Families forced to carry those with disabilities for several kilometres after having to abandon their homes in northern Gaza and head south. A piece by Gazan journalist Maha Hussaini. (2023, Middle East Eye)

Israel continues to attack hospitals in Gaza. “The Psychiatric Hospital, the only one of its kind in the Gaza Strip, is also no longer able to treat its patients.” (2023, Aljazeera)

UN expert demands unconditional humanitarian access and relief for people with disabilities:
“This region has increasing disability rates among the population because of exposure to repeated armed conflicts in addition to the current bombardment of the Gaza strip, and all relief teams and international bodies must take this into account.” (2023, Relief Web)

Trapped and traumatised, Gaza's disabled face death sentence (2023, The New Arab)

Attacks on healthcare and Impacts on Physical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Services. (2023, Humanity & Inclusion)

'This is my fifth war': Gazan man with disability. “I don't want my brothers to keep carrying me, they are tired of carrying me.” (2023, Straits Times)

Interview with Deaf Palestinian Tayyeb Badwe:

“How do they provide updates? They have a WhatsApp group and also use Telegram to provide news and updates. It includes a sign language interpreter as well, who is based in Gaza. They also use social media but if they don’t have internet connectivity, I don’t know how they can provide updates. But how do they know about incoming bombs? Deaf people depend on hearing family members who live with them for alerts on when to evacuate. Or if a deaf person lives by themselves, they will get messages on their phones from hearing family members who keep tabs on them.” (2023, The Daily Moth)

Deaf Gaza residents struggle to survive Israeli siege and bombing “Instagram videos from deaf people who live in Gaza who are trying to survive with dwindling water, food and constant bombardment from the Israeli military.” (2023, The Daily Moth)

Amnesty International Researcher Budour Hassan a blind journalist and researcher, describes the situation in Gaza and when asked about her own disability says “it's not about me”. (Video on Twitter, 2023, ABC News Live)

Plain language primer for solidarity with Palestine. (2023, Crip News)

Disabled athletes braving bombs to feed starving Gaza civilians. “A para-cycling volunteer team managed to feed 1,800 people in the blockaded strip” (2023, Express)

Statement on the situation of persons with disabilities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory (2023, IDA and IDDC)

Urgent Call to Protect the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza (2023, Disability Rights Fund)

“People with disabilities not spared by Israel’s war machine on Gaza Strip” “Bombs, lack of electricity and roads damaged by Israeli offensive make life impossible for disabled people in Gaza.” (2023, Aljazeera)

A disability lens on conflict: Israel and Gaza war Debrief feature on disabled victims of Hamas attacks, destruction in Gaza, and disability on different sides of the conflict. (2023, Disability Debrief)

People with Disabilities in Gaza Languish after Israeli Airstrikes (2023, Human Rights Watch)

How do people with disabilities cope when Israel bombs Gaza? (2023, Electronic Intifada)

“Ten minutes is not enough for a person with a disability to evacuate their home safely” (2023, MAP)

An Israeli missile worsens the adversity of five disabled siblings (2023, Reuters)

Statement of Solidarity with Palestine: “Abolition and apartheid cannot co-exist. There is no disability justice under military occupation.” (2021, Abolition and Disability Justice Coalition)

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Europe

Statement of ENIL on the situation of Disabled People in Gaza “We are particularly alarmed about the humanitarian condition of disabled people in Gaza, who are disproportionately affected by the conflict escalation in the past few months, resulting in aid blockages and military attacks on civilian populations.” (May, ENIL)

Critical situation of persons with disabilities in Gaza Letter to the President of the European Commission. (2023, EDF)

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United Kingdom

Cops arrest disabled pro-Palestine activist and force him to walk without his mobility aid. “Reports vary, but between eight to ten police violently arrested the protester as he was moving off the road”. (Jun, Canary)

An Autistic Conservative Inspired by Zionism

“I made many new friends and allies both Jews and non-Jews who love my autistic Zionist advocacy. I told these Jews that I owed it to them for their custom of Tikkun Olam making autistic people integrated into Israeli society. Across the diaspora like here in Britain, Jewish people have made certain that disabled people are supported in society.” (Apr, The Times of Israel)

DR UK Stands in Solidarity with Disabled Palestinians “We are deeply concerned about the severe humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, and we are committed to advocating for the protection of the rights and dignity of Disabled individuals in this time of crisis.” (2023, Disability Rights UK)

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Canada

How one Gazan mother’s tragedy has fuelled a sit-in action. (Jun, Disability Visibility Project)

Ontario NDP removes Sarah Jama from caucus after Israel-Hamas comments. Jama posted on social media about “the generations long occupation of Palestine”. She uses a wheelchair. (2023, Global News)

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United States

Disability Divest: We Demand the Disability Establishment End Its Relationships with War Profiteers: “Disability rights organizations go further than accepting money from war profiteers: they honor them with disability inclusion awards.” (Jul, Disability Divest)

Letter to Biden & Harris: Immediate Demands for Disabled Palestinians (Jul, Disability Demands)

Palestine X Disability Justice Syllabus (Jun, Disability Visibility Project)

Accessibility-barriers caused by pro-Palestine protest a rejection of the protests by a student with disability. (May, Jerusalem Post)

At this student encampment, Deaf protesters built a model for accessibility

“Deaf pro-Palestine students joined their hearing peers at the now-cleared George Washington University encampment. Volunteer interpreters made that multilingual organizing possible.” (May, The 19th)

Disabled veteran files lawsuit alleging UC Davis pro-Palestinian encampment blocks pathway. “Encampment representative claims this is a ‘lawfare’ tactic to silence students”. (May, Daily Democrat)

Palestine is Disabled “A free Palestine is a disability justice issue. Disability justice will not win without a free Palestine. Where disabled people live in a land that is at peace. Where we get to just be.” (Jan, Disability Visibility Project)

Disability Justice Activists Organize to Help Palestinians Stay Connected Organizers are distributing digital SIM cards directly to people in Gaza amid communication blackouts. (Jan, Truthout)

Why Palestinian Liberation Is Disability Justice “I’m no expert but I know what it means to be dehumanized, rendered disposable, and oppressed. I know that all people deserve freedom. I know that genocide is a mass disabling event and a form of eugenics.” (2023, Disability Visibility Project)

What Does Disability Justice Mean in Gaza? On debility, drones, and solidarity. (2023, Sluggish)

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Australia

On the rights of people with disability in Gaza a joint statement. (Aug, WWDA and NEDA )

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