DaysofPal – The war in Gaza has dramatically worsened the lives of people with disabilities, leaving many trapped in damaged homes, cut off from essential services, and increasingly unable to reach safety as the humanitarian crisis deepens, according to a new United Nations report.
Published to mark the International Day of Deafblindness on June 27, the report highlights how Palestinians with visual, hearing, and multiple disabilities have been disproportionately affected by widespread destruction, repeated displacement, the collapse of healthcare and rehabilitation services, and severe shortages of assistive devices.
The UN says the Israeli war has intensified the vulnerability of people with disabilities, who face heightened risks in an environment where evacuation orders, front lines, and areas of danger change rapidly.
“People who cannot hear evacuation orders, cannot see the road, or cannot move without assistance face double the danger,” the report notes.
A Daily Struggle for Survival
The report centers on the story of Saeed Bakroun, a blind man with a physical disability whose life has been transformed by the war.
Before the conflict, Bakroun worked as a radio presenter and was able to move independently in his wheelchair through Gaza City’s streets. Today, the roads are destroyed, his home is heavily damaged, and every journey has become a dangerous challenge.
Forced to return to what remains of his house after repeated displacement, Bakroun now navigates cracked walls, unstable staircases, and piles of rubble that make independent movement nearly impossible. The only alternative, he says, is living in overcrowded displacement tents or renting accommodation he cannot afford.
The war also destroyed his personal library, leaving him with only two Braille books.
“Reading was the most important way I spent my time,” he says in the report. “Now I feel intense boredom after losing almost all of my books.”
According to the World Health Organization, around 43,000 people in Gaza have suffered life-changing injuries since October 2023, while more than 50,000 war-related injuries require long-term rehabilitation.
These injuries include amputations, spinal cord damage, severe burns, traumatic brain injuries, and complex fractures. Yet rehabilitation centers continue to operate far below capacity, while wheelchairs, hearing aids, prosthetic limbs, and other assistive devices remain in critically short supply.
Before the war, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated that approximately 58,000 people with disabilities lived in Gaza. The United Nations warns that the number has likely risen significantly as thousands more people have sustained permanent injuries during the conflict.
Barriers Extend Beyond Disability
The report stresses that the challenges facing people with disabilities extend far beyond their physical conditions.
With most of Gaza’s population enduring prolonged displacement, insecurity, and limited access to basic services, crowded shelters and damaged buildings often lack adequate water, sanitation, protection, and accessible infrastructure, making everyday life especially hazardous for those with disabilities.
For Bakroun, survival depends on others.
“When the bombing starts, healthy people can run to safety,” he says. “My condition does not allow me to do that. I need someone to see for me, someone to push my wheelchair, and someone who knows the way.”
The United Nations concludes that the tragedy facing people with disabilities in Gaza is not defined solely by injury or impairment but by the collapse of the environment that makes independent life possible.
The loss of safe housing, accessible roads, rehabilitation services, assistive equipment, and reliable warning systems has left thousands increasingly isolated and exposed to danger.
The UN warns that restoring accessibility and rehabilitation services will be essential to protecting the rights, dignity and survival of people with disabilities in Gaza as the humanitarian crisis continues.
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