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Israeli offensives against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip increase the suffering of people with disabilities, Human Rights Watch has warned. The military offensive in May might have faded from the memory, but the wounds are still fresh, it said on Wednesday.
The latest HRW report shared the example of a Palestinian family including disabled young women whose house was destroyed during the Israeli attack in May. "People with disabilities remain among the most affected," the report said. "On May 13, an Israeli officer ordered the Nabhan family to evacuate their homes in Jabaliya refugee camp within three minutes. They housed at least 40 members of the extended family, including five people with disabilities."
HRW spoke to Najah, 50, who pleaded for help to evacuate her daughters Haneen and Areej, who have physical and intellectual disabilities. According to the rights group, neighbours of the disabled women carried them to safety. "Before they had time to retrieve Haneen's wheelchair," though, "an Israel air strike flattened their four-storey building."
Haneen, 19, told HRW, "I need nothing but to have our house back." She said that she feels "cut off" from the world without her wheelchair, calling it the most important thing in her life. Areej, meanwhile, has trouble sleeping due to the constant buzzing of Israeli drones.
READ: Israel cop charged after killing autistic Palestinian
During that particular Israeli offensive, at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza were killed in air and artillery strikes. Around 3,000 housing units were damaged.
Israel's closure and blockade of the Gaza Strip has now entered its seventeenth year. Human Rights Watch has documented the fact that the sweeping restrictions imposed on movement, at times exacerbated by the policies of the Palestinian Authority, curb access to assistive devices, healthcare and electricity essential for many people with disabilities.
"Chronic power outages particularly jeopardise the rights of many people with disabilities who need light to communicate using sign language, or equipment powered by electricity to move, including elevators and electric mobility scooters," said HRW. "The bombing may have subsided again, but for Haneen and Areej, who lost their family home in an instant and the assistive device that helped them to lead a more independent and dignified life, the hostilities haven't ended."
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