The genocide in Gaza is a mass debilitating event.
More than 400 days of constant Israeli airstrikes and ground invasions in densely populated areas have left more than 22,500 people suffering life-changing injuries. Hundreds of people with disabilities have been killed or remain under the rubble. Ninety percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, some up to 20 times.
The destruction of infrastructure hampers the mobility of people with all types of disabilities, making it extremely difficult for them to escape on orders from the Israeli army.
Just as the Israeli army is destroying the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip, it has also decimated the healthcare system that once existed for people with disabilities, killing many professionals who worked in this field. On May 13, Hashem Ghazal, founder of the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children and also known as the “spiritual father of the deaf in Gaza,” was killed in an Israeli airstrike along with his wife.
I grew up in Gaza, in the Nuseirat refugee camp. When I was a child, I knew many people who were left disabled for life by Israeli violence. Before the war, almost 50,000 people in Gaza were registered as living with a disability.
Although I am no longer in Gaza, in September I was able to speak on the phone and WhatsApp with several disabled Palestinians who had been displaced. Here are some of their stories:
Azmi Aljamal is nine years old. On October 15, 2023, he was pulled from the rubble of his family home, targeted by two missiles which killed his mother, his grandparents, his uncle, his two aunts, his two brothers and sisters and three of his cousins. Azmi had fallen from the third floor and was seriously injured. He is now in a wheelchair and needs surgery to repair his foot, but he cannot leave the country to get it back.
Azmi’s family was moved from Nuseirat to Rafah, then back to Nuseirat when the Israeli army invaded Rafah. His father Mousa told me: “He needs special care, for example, he needs a certain type of diaper, he follows a specific diet and needs vitamins that are not available. » His family struggled to get him ointment to treat his burns. Whenever there is a bombing nearby, his father carries Azmi and tries to give him some protection. Azmi’s dream is to walk on his own again.
Mahmoud Adnan Shokor is 31 years old and lives in the Nuseirat refugee camp. After falling from a construction site in 2018, he became paraplegic and developed speech difficulties. He uses a wheelchair and relies on his family’s help with daily tasks. On November 4, Israel bombed the family home, injuring his mother and killing his cousin. Surviving family members and neighbors pulled Mahmoud from the rubble.
In the past he was treated in Egypt. Today, Mahmoud’s health is worsening. His mother told me: “He cries every day, and when it’s time to run away and the bombings are coming, he can’t run for his life. »
Mahmoud’s brothers Abed and Dyia carry him on their backs, despite the danger. Mahmoud told me he did not have access to the medication needed to manage his condition.
Reem Ayad is 10 years old. Originally from the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, she was playing with her brothers on October 16, 2023, when an Israeli military plane dropped two missiles on their house. Reem says: “We fled our house after it was partially destroyed above our heads. As we were fleeing down the street, they bombed the street right next to us and I was directly injured in my right hand, leading to its immediate amputation.
Reem’s father, Kamal, describes how he carried her on his shoulders until he reached the nearest ambulance and Reem was transferred to hospital. Then Israel ordered the hospital evacuated and they fled south, even though Reem had just undergone surgery.
Kamal told me she continues to suffer from nightmares and relives the experience of being pulled from under the rubble. “Reem needs vitamins, food and medicine that are not available, and she needs to have an injection to stop the growth of the bone in her hand so it doesn’t tear the skin. The most important thing she needs to continue her life like other children is a prosthesis.
Amina Omar, nine years old, from the Zeitoun district, suffers from cerebral palsy. Under fire, in front of Israeli tanks and with quadcopters overhead, her mother Najah – who was pregnant – had to carry Amina as they fled south. The struggle to survive had terrible consequences and, due to malnutrition and lack of health care, she lost the child she was carrying in her womb.
Najah does her best to support her family with the limited resources she has in a camp for displaced people. In the stifling heat, she bakes bread in a clay oven installed in her tent and sells some of it.
For Amina, daily tasks are even more difficult than before. Unable to walk, she must drag herself through the dust of the camp. She needs a wheelchair, but it’s impossible to get one. The food situation is another constant concern. Amina’s weak digestive system rejects most dishes, causing bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.
These are just a few of thousands of stories. As Israel’s war on Gaza continues unabated, disabled Palestinians bear perhaps the greatest brunt.
Everyone I spoke to was facing extreme hardship and couldn’t get the care they needed. But even in the most extreme conditions, the lengths people were willing to go to protect their loved ones is staggering.
I have heard so many stories of family members risking their lives to care for each other. Their courage should motivate us all to continue our fight to end this horrible genocide. We must do everything possible to pressure political leaders to impose an arms embargo on Israel and call for a permanent ceasefire.
The world must listen to the cries for help from all Palestinians, including those with disabilities.
Serena Awad, program manager with the American Friends Service Committee in Gaza, also contributed to this article.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.