As the war grinds on, Gaza’s disabled population has been pushed to the edge of survival, not by chance, but by systematic neglect. Amid bombardment, hunger, and mass displacement, tens of thousands of people with physical and cognitive disabilities are enduring a uniquely brutal struggle, invisible to a world focused on casualty counts.

From makeshift tents to bombed-out shelters, those who once relied on assistive devices, medications, or physiotherapy are now left with nothing. “We’ve had to carry our son ourselves,” said Umm Hussam, mother of a 12-year-old with cerebral palsy. “His wheelchair is broken, his breathing machine gone. We’ve lost everything.”

Power outages, inaccessible shelters, and destroyed rehabilitation centres have left many disabled residents cut off from essential care. Khaled, injured in a 2021 strike, now hobbles on a single crutch through the wreckage of displacement. “These shelters are not made for us,” he said. “We can’t even reach the toilet.”

According to local authorities, over 28,000 people have become permanently disabled since the war began, children among them, losing limbs and hearing at alarming rates. Nearly 5,000 amputations have been recorded. The bombing of Gaza’s only limb-rehabilitation centre in early 2024 extinguished one of the last hopes for recovery.

The war’s starvation campaign has only deepened the crisis. Malnutrition is stripping immune systems and worsening chronic conditions. Many now endure pain without treatment, their medications cut off, their bodies deteriorating in silence.

In Gaza, disability is no longer a medical condition, it is a death sentence carried out by siege, silence, and international indifference. These are lives buried not just under rubble, but under the weight of a world that chooses not to see.