WILL IRVINE (HE/HIM)
CW: Genocide, Descriptions of Graphic Violence
On July 3, 2024, Israeli troops stormed the house of the Bhar family in Gaza City, under the pretence of searching for Hamas fighters. Before entering the house, the soldiers sent in a military attack dog, which began biting and mauling the family’s 24-year-old son, Mohammad.
Mohammad Bhar had Down syndrome and profound autism. According to his family, his disability prevented him from understanding what the dog was doing in their house. As it sank its teeth into him, he repeatedly yelped “khalas, ya habibi” (enough, my love!). According to the BBC, he continued to attempt to pat the dog, even as it bit him. When the soldiers entered the building, they pointed guns at the family, moved Mohammad into a separate room, and ordered the remaining family to leave. The Bhar family were told that an IDF doctor would soon arrive to treat Mohammad.
One week later, when the Bhar family were finally able to return to their home, they found Mohammad’s body mauled on the floor. His body was in a state of decay, and according to his family, worms had begun to eat his face.
Mohammad Bhar’s story is particularly horrifying, but it is nowhere near unique in the long and tragic story of Gaza’s disabled population. The besieged Palestinian enclave, under a severe blockade since 2007, has minimal resources with which to provide care for its disabled population. Gaza, uniquely, has a large population of amputees. During the 2019 Great March of Return, a largely nonviolent protest at the Gaza occupation wall, IDF snipers boasted to Haaretz that they kept a tally of the number of knees they had shot out. One sniper bragged of disabling 42 Palestinians in one day.
Since Israel’s assault on Gaza began in October 2023, the toll of disability care has increased rapidly. Alongside a skyrocketing death toll, which experts predict could reach over 200,000 by the war’s conclusion, a large chunk of Gazan society has become disabled as a result of indiscriminate Israeli bombing campaigns. In December 2023, less than ten weeks into the Israeli slaughter, UNICEF reported that at least 1,000 Gazan children had lost one or both legs.
Israel’s use of disability against Gaza stretches far beyond the extent of this war. By permanently disabling massive portions of society, Israel places a long-term strain on Gaza’s already destroyed healthcare system. By injuring children and adults alike, they prevent rebuilding efforts, and slow any future economic growth the enclave might have. Additionally, essential disability care is prevented from entering Gaza in aid trucks. According to CNN, items like crutches and anaesthetics are classified as dual-use items—that is, items that could potentially be used to arm Hamas’s military wing—and are frequently prevented from entering the strip.
As disability advocates worldwide have noted, life as a disabled person becomes severely difficult without free and uninterrupted access to disability aids like crutches and wheelchairs. Unfortunately, the many Palestinians who have found themselves recently disabled will likely never be able to access such care, with the majority of Gaza’s hospitals now destroyed or severely damaged.
As for people like Mohammad Bhar, who lived with intellectual or learning disabilities and neurodivergence, life in a war zone becomes increasingly dangerous. A lack of understanding of social cues can lead to behaviour that is easily construed as “aggressive” by bloodthirsty Israeli soldiers, and a widespread culture of ableism leads to neurodivergent people, especially young men, being identified as potential threats without having committed any real offence.
An article published by Electronic Intifada in 2022, before the outbreak of outright war in Gaza, tells of the lives of autistic Palestinian children who live under Israeli occupation. Awni Abu Hatab, a now 10-year-old autistic boy living in one of many Gaza’s refugee camps, was described as being terrified of loud noises. Although Awni’s home of Al-Shati refugee camp is now under Israeli occupation and subject to air strikes, his name does not appear on any lists of named casualties.
The same article also describes the difficult lives of disability care specialists in Gaza. Marwa Atallah, a special education specialist, said that trauma from Israeli airstrikes exacerbated problems for autistic Palestinians. For people particularly sensitive to loud noises and lights, airstrikes can inflict lifelong shock and trauma that permanently scar those who survive.
However, there is some hope on the horizon for disabled Palestinians. In August, Reuters reported that the Palestinian Red Crescent had opened a new disability-focused refugee camp in Deir El-Balah, capable of holding upwards of 100 disabled refugees and displaced peoples. The camp, named “Smile of Hope”, is nowhere near able to cater to the massive numbers of disabled Palestinians without care. However, for the few who are able to access it, the services will likely be lifesaving.