Israel's bombardment and blockade of Gaza have caused "profound trauma and suffering" to the children there, particularly to those with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said.
In a report released Monday, the watchdog group wrote that thousands of children had become disabled due to injuries sustained because of Israel's use of explosive weapons after October 7. Their numbers are added to the 98,000 children living in Gaza with disabilities before the war began, who now face "enormous difficulties to survive."
"The Israeli military's unlawful attacks and denial of aid are harming and traumatizing Palestinians throughout Gaza, but children with disabilities are facing increased threats to their lives and safety," Emina Ćerimović, HRW's associate disability rights director, said in a statement. "Countries providing military support to Israel should suspend arms transfers so long as its forces commit serious laws-of-war violations with impunity, including unlawful restrictions on aid and attacks on hospitals."
"They took everything that helped me live, like my devices, my boot, and my wheelchair. How can I go back to how I was without all this?"
For the report, titled "They Destroyed What Was Inside Us": Children with Disabilities Amid Israel's Attacks on Gaza, HRW interviewed one child with a disability, 20 family members of children with disabilities, and 13 healthcare and humanitarian workers. They also reviewed children's medical records and watched more than 50 videos and photographs showing the aftermath of bombardments.
The child they interviewed was a 14-year-old girl named Ghazal who has cerebral palsy. A bombardment of her home in Gaza City destroyed her orthotic shoe, wheelchair, and a third nighttime device, as well as most of the family's belongings.
"From the day the war broke out, they destroyed what was inside us," Ghazal told HRW. "They demolished my house and my room, which held all my memories. They took everything that helped me live, like my devices, my boot, and my wheelchair. How can I go back to how I was without all this?"
Without her mobility aides, Ghazal had to rely on her parents to carry her when the family fled south, leading to psychological distress for everyone.
"Most of the time, Ghazal would tell me, 'Mama, it's over, leave me alone and run away. You should leave me in the street,'" her mother, Hala Al-Ghoula, told HRW. "It was one of the worst days of my life, with a very difficult feeling that can never be described. I was confused: whether to stop while we were under bombardment or to walk and leave Ghazal."
Israel's assault on Gaza carries "particular risks" for children with disabilities like Ghazal because their age and conditions make them more vulnerable.
"They face additional challenges in accessing essential food, water, sanitation, medical treatment, medicines, assistive devices, and services, all of which are extremely hard, if not impossible, to obtain due to frequent Israeli strikes and major ground operations and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid," HRW said.
Several elements of Israel's assault on Gaza following Hamas' October 7 attack on Southern Israel are particularly difficult for both the newly and previously disabled. It is extremely challenging for people with disabilities like Ghazal to respond to short-notice evacuation orders. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is even more dangerous for children who require a special diet to maintain their health, and limited access to water and sanitation puts additional strain on those with special health needs.
Israel's method of warfare—the bombardment of densely populated urban areas—is extremely disabling. A December report from Humanity & Inclusion found that the leading type of injury from these explosions was "traumatic amputations." Meanwhile, three doctors told HRW that the most frequent kind of injury they saw when treating children following bombardments was burns, but the second most common was amputations.
"We are talking about a huge number of traumatic amputations, especially in children, leaving children with permanent disabilities. Also, many children who were wounded by shrapnel all over their faces and bodies, and I have seen children lose their eyesight due to injuries," Dr. A.G., who worked at Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, told HRW.
Whether a child was injured in the war or had a preexisting health need, Israel's frequent assaults on hospitals further impedes them from getting the care they need. Between October 7 and August 20, Israel conducted 505 separate attacks on healthcare facilities that left 752 dead, 982 injured, and the enclave with only 17 hospitals that partially function.
"I saw a semi-functional hospital become unable to function because of the mass casualties, lack of supplies, inability of staff to reach the hospital, and security constraints," Dr. Seema Jilani, who worked for two weeks at Al-Aqsa Hospital, told HRW. "One day while I was there, a bullet went in through the ICU. And in the following few days, Israel dropped leaflets in the surrounding area, the red zone, asking people to evacuate. We were not able to return after that."
Israel's actions come despite the fact that international humanitarian and human rights law affords special protections to people with disabilities in wartime, HRW noted. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Israel ratified in 2012, mandates that signatories take "all necessary measures" to safeguard people with disabilities during armed conflict. In Israel's case, that would mean providing more effective evacuation measures and lifting the blockade to make sure that those with disabilities have what they need to survive, such as food, water, healthcare, medication, and mobility aides.
HRW also said that countries such as the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Germany should pressure Israel to protect children with disabilities by condemning violations, applying sanctions when appropriate, and not sending weapons to Israel while it commits war crimes.
"Israeli authorities need to take immediate action to end the wrongful deaths, injuries, and suffering of children, particularly those with disabilities," Ćerimović concluded. "Governments should urgently adopt measures to press the Israeli government to comply with its legal obligations to prevent further atrocities and to ensure the rights of children with disabilities, and everyone else, are respected."
