UN experts warn Gaza City offensive will be 'apocalyptic' for persons with disabilities

GENEVA

The Israeli offensive to seize Gaza City will be "apocalyptic" for persons with disabilities, UN experts warned on Tuesday, citing grave risks to their survival.

"People with disabilities in Gaza are totally exhausted and traumatised," the experts said in a statement. "Some with mobility impairments are forced to crawl through rubble or be dragged on mattresses, while others face barriers in accessing information."

They said indiscriminate attacks, repeated displacement, collapsing infrastructure, scarce supplies, and inaccessible shelters had left people with disabilities at "extremely high risk of death, injury, starvation, dehydration, violence and exploitation."

The experts stressed Israel, as the occupying power, is violating its obligations under international law, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

"We are urging all UN Member States to act urgently as genocide and man-made famine unfold in Gaza," they said, warning the Gaza City assault could bring further "crimes and suffering."

The remarks came as the Israeli military stepped up its ground offensive in Gaza City, ordering residents to leave the area.

Gaza City endured one of its bloodiest nights on Monday, with 35 people killed and dozens wounded or missing as Israeli forces also deployed explosive-laden robots to demolish homes.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and triggered widespread starvation and disease.