A United Nations commission concluded that at least 21,000 children in Gaza have been left with disabilities since the war started on October 7, 2023. This shows how much long-term harm the war has done to civilians, especially children, in the occupied Palestinian territory. The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) said on Wednesday, September 3, that more than half of the injuries caused permanent disabilities.
The committee said that some 40,500 children in Gaza were hurt in the fighting over the past two years, and many of them now have physical, sensory, or cognitive problems. The panel claimed that its independent examination used health data from the UN and the area as part of its work.
The committee discovered that those with hearing or vision problems typically couldn’t hear or see evacuation orders during military activities. In a lot of situations, people couldn’t hear or comprehend the warnings, which made it impossible for them to leave and put their family in deadly peril. Witnesses said that persons with disabilities had to run away in risky and humiliating conditions, often crawling through sand or dirt without any help getting about.
People with disabilities have been hurt the most by the restrictions on aid. The panel observed that persistent problems with getting aid to people have left many without food, clean water, sanitation, or hygiene products. This has made them more dependent on others for basic survival. It told those who were helping to get to children with impairments directly instead of making them go to central distribution stations.
Eighty-three percent of disabled persons in Gaza have lost their assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, crutches, canes, hearing aids, splints, and prostheses. Most of these items were destroyed under rubble or left behind when families had to leave their homes. Most people can’t afford new ones, so they’ve come up with makeshift solutions like donkey carts. The committee didn’t like that mobility aids were called “dual-use items,” which meant that important gear couldn’t be provided to humanitarian groups.
The committee said that at least 157,000 persons in Gaza were hurt between October 2023 and late August 2025, and that around one in four of them is at risk of being disabled for life. It asked for “massive” help that was specific to people with disabilities and for safety measures that take into account accessibility and communication needs during any orders to leave or transfer.
The committee also urged all parties to stop the violence and deprivation, and it reminded nations of their duty under international human rights and humanitarian law to make sure that response plans are open to everyone. The UN had already warned that persons with disabilities in Gaza are more likely to be hurt or killed first during conflicts and last to get help.
The UN panel said that Israel did not take part in the committee’s most recent hearings. The committee recommended that governments, humanitarian groups, and de facto authorities should make sure that notifications are easy to get, safe passage is guaranteed, and medical supplies and assistive gadgets are delivered without any problems.
This report is based on information from the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and inputs from media outlets: AP news, AI-Monitor, France 24.
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