new York, Sept 3 (Petra) – More than 40,000 children in Gaza have sustained war-related injuries in the two years since the war began, with over half of them left with disabilities, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the committee said people with hearing or vision impairments often did not receive Israeli evacuation orders, making displacement “impossible” for them.

It cited reports of people with disabilities being forced to flee in unsafe and undignified conditions, such as crawling through sand or mud without mobility assistance. Restrictions on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, it warned, have had a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities.

“Persons with disabilities face severe interruptions in assistance, leaving many without food, clean water, or hygiene and dependent on others to survive,” the committee said.

It cautioned that concentrating aid distribution at limited points in Gaza has made it extremely difficult for people with disabilities to access desperately needed relief.

The committee called for “substantial humanitarian assistance for persons with disabilities” affected by the war, noting it had been informed that 157,114 people were injured between Oct. 7, 2023, and Aug. 21 this year, with 25% at risk of lifelong disabilities.

//Petra// AF
03/09/2025 21:38:28