Gaza: As many as 21,000 Palestinian children in Gaza are living with disabilities due to injuries linked to the ongoing Israeli aggression against the enclave since Oct. 7, 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities reported in a statement on Wednesday.
According to Qatar News Agency, the statement noted that approximately 40,500 children sustained injuries related to the offensive over the two years since the outbreak of hostilities, confirming that more than half now endure disabilities and impairments in hearing or vision, rendering their evacuation virtually impossible.
Those people are compelled to flee under unsafe conditions that strip them of dignity, crawling through sand or mud without mobility assistance, while also confronting financial barriers created by the onslaught, the loss of mobility aid, and the difficulty of reaching aid distribution points, the statement read.
It stressed that, because of these calamitous circumstances, they experience major disruptions in essential support, leaving many without food, clean water, or sanitation, reliant entirely on others for survival.
The committee sounded the alarm over Israel's classification of equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, braces, and prosthetic limbs as dual-use items, effectively barring their entry into the Gaza Strip.
The UN body called for substantial humanitarian assistance to reach persons with disabilities affected by the aggression, underscoring the urgent need for all parties to adopt protective measures to prevent further violence, harm, death, and the deprivation of rights.
Earlier today, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced that the toll of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 63,746 fallen and 161,245 wounded, mostly women and children.