Israeli government attacks and the illegal blockade of Gaza have caused severe suffering to children with disabilities. Explosive weapons have left many more permanently disabled.
The ongoing siege of Gaza has disproportionately harmed children with disabilities, who are already in vulnerable situations, and puts them at particular risk of permanent psychological
damage.
States should suspend arms sales while Israeli forces continue to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law with impunity, including the illegal blockade of humanitarian aid and
attacks on hospitals.
(Jerusalem) - Israeli government attacks and the illegal blockade of Gaza have caused severe trauma and suffering to Palestinian children, particularly those with disabilities, Human Rights Watch
said in a report released today. The Israeli military's massive use of explosive weapons has caused severe injuries that have left children in Gaza permanently disabled and scarred for
life.
The 83-page report, "'They Destroyed What Was Inside Us': Children with Disabilities Amid Israel's Attacks on Gaza," documents that children with disabilities and those who already had
disabilities face a precarious security situation and further difficulties in the Gaza Strip as they contend with the frequent evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army and the lack of an
effective warning system of attacks. The ongoing siege of Gaza, the illegal blockade of humanitarian aid, the use of starvation as a weapon of war, and the damage and destruction of hospitals
disproportionately affect children with disabilities, who struggle to access urgently needed medical treatment and care, assistive devices such as mobility aids, food and water. They are also
particularly at risk of permanent psychological damage.
"The Israeli military's illegal attacks and denial of humanitarian aid harm and traumatize Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip. “The lives and safety of children with disabilities are
particularly at risk,” said Emina Ćerimović, deputy disability rights director at Human Rights Watch. “States that provide military support to Israel should suspend their arms sales while Israeli
forces continue to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law with impunity, including illegal restrictions on humanitarian aid and attacks on hospitals.”
The Israeli military’s use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas increases the risk of unlawful and indiscriminate attacks, Human Rights Watch said. Family members and medical
professionals report that Israeli attacks that damage homes, schools, hospitals, and shopping centers without warning result in death, serious injury, and permanent disability among
children.
For the report, Human Rights Watch spoke with 20 family members of children with disabilities, one child with a disability, and 13 medical and humanitarian workers. Human Rights Watch reviewed
medical records of several children with disabilities and more than 50 videos and photographs showing the aftermath of the attacks documented in this report.
Leila al-Kafarna, a mother of three, said an Israeli evacuation order drove her family from Beit Hanoun to Deir al-Balah, where they thought they would be safe. However, on October 24, 2023, the
Israeli military attacked the shopping mall in the Nuseirat refugee camp market, seriously wounding her 13-year-old son, Malek, who lost his left arm in the attack. Leila al-Kafarna said there
was no advance warning:
“The rocket [munition] hit the supermarket and I lost consciousness. ... I woke up still holding my son's hand, so I started running ... and then I felt that my son was light, as if there was no
weight hanging on his arm. I looked around, but my son was nowhere near me. Then I saw that I was only holding his arm.”
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has reported that since October 7, 2023, thousands of children in the Gaza Strip have become disabled due to injuries caused by explosive weapons.
Before that, there were already 98,000 children with disabilities living there. Some of these children and their families described the difficulties they faced during their escape, particularly
because there was no advance warning or assistance and they had to struggle through the rubble of the severe destruction.
Ghazal, a 15-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, said she lost her mobility aid in an attack on her home in Gaza City on October 11: “I was a burden to them [my family], as they already had to
take care of their belongings. I could not find any means of transportation. I finally gave up, sat down on the ground in the middle of the street and cried. I told them to go without me.”
The Israeli government’s blockade of Gaza, restrictions on humanitarian aid, including the delivery of medicines and medical supplies, and strict restrictions on those allowed to leave Gaza for
medical treatment are causing massive harm to children, including those with disabilities. Injured children who urgently needed immediate medical care faced disproportionately long waiting times
and were operated on without anesthesia, which further exacerbated their trauma. Children who require ongoing medical care have not had consistent access to care for nearly a year.
Children with disabilities who require special diets are particularly at risk of malnutrition and starvation. Water restrictions and the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure in the
Gaza Strip by Israeli forces disproportionately affect children with disabilities.
To make matters worse, children with disabilities suffer psychological damage as a result of violence and loss they have experienced or witnessed, such as the trauma of losing their
parents.
In September 2024, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that more than 41,000 Palestinians, including more than 16,750 children, had been killed since October 7.
Both international humanitarian law and international human rights conventions provide for special protection of persons with disabilities, including children, in the context of armed conflict.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Israel ratified in 2012, requires states parties to take “all necessary measures” to ensure the protection and safety of
persons with disabilities in armed conflict, in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The Israeli military’s failure to provide adaptive evacuation
procedures for children with disabilities violates their rights under the Convention and increases the likelihood that they will be injured or even killed.
Taking “all necessary measures” to ensure the safety and protection of persons with disabilities during armed conflict would also include access to essentials such as food, clean water, medicine,
health care and adequate supplies, which are largely unavailable in Gaza due to the blockade.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and other European Union member states, as well as other Israeli allies, should explicitly condemn Israeli abuses that particularly harm
Palestinian children. These abuses include the use of explosive weapons in residential areas, the siege of Gaza and restrictions on humanitarian aid, as well as the unlawful attacks on hospitals
and medical transport.
These governments should take targeted sanctions and other measures to pressure the Israeli government to comply with its international obligations, and in particular to address the needs of
Palestinian children with disabilities. They should also work with Palestinian and Egyptian authorities to identify children with disabilities who require medical treatment abroad and facilitate
their evacuation for treatment.
The United States, Germany and other countries that continue to supply Israel with weapons and military aid are complicit in war crimes and gross human rights violations.
“The Israeli authorities must take immediate action to end the unjustified killings, injuries and torture of children, especially children with disabilities,” said Ćerimović. "Governments should
take urgent action to urge the Israeli government to comply with its legal obligations to prevent further atrocities and ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and all other people
are respected."
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