Gaza / PNN/

 The Palestinian Disability Coalition has launched a media campaign to shed light on the realities faced by persons with disabilities amid Israel’s ongoing war and forced displacement of Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip. The campaign highlights the suffering of individuals with disabilities, documenting Israeli attacks that have resulted in their deaths through audio, video, and photographic evidence.

The campaign features news reports, video segments, and televised public service announcements exposing the severe crimes and violations committed against persons with disabilities during what the coalition describes as Israel’s war of extermination against the Palestinian people. So far, two televised reports have been produced and translated into both English and sign language, alongside seven additional translated video clips aimed at conveying the experiences of persons with disabilities to a global audience.

The reports and video content were produced and translated by the Palestine News Network (PNN), which is also broadcasting them across its Arabic and English-language platforms, as well as on all its social media channels and the Facebook pages of the Palestinian Disability Coalition.

According to the coalition, individuals with disabilities in Gaza have faced additional hardships during Israel’s military offensive, which has played out in full view of the international community. The war has resulted in the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system and rehabilitation institutions, even as the number of people sustaining life-altering disabilities from Israeli airstrikes continues to rise. Many individuals with disabilities also suffer from chronic illnesses or require ongoing medical care, yet the collapsing healthcare sector has been unable to meet their needs.

Post-War Challenges and Calls for Inclusion

As efforts to establish a ceasefire progress, the coalition has stressed the urgent need for both local and international health workers to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in all planned health programs and interventions. The coalition emphasized that this can only be achieved through the meaningful and active participation of persons with disabilities themselves, along with the organizations that represent and support them.

“If Human Rights Do Not Include Us, They Must Fall”

Awad Abayat, a member of the Palestinian Disability Coalition, stated that the campaign was launched under the slogan: "If human rights do not include us, they must fall." He emphasized that its goal is to expose and document the crimes committed by Israeli forces during and after the war of extermination against Palestinians in Gaza, which continues to this day in the West Bank. The campaign seeks to unveil these violations, particularly against persons with disabilities, and bring international attention to their suffering.

Abayat further explained that Israel’s actions have not only violated international conventions and treaties but have also crossed fundamental ethical boundaries. "This occupation has exceeded every possible standard of humanity. Its sole guiding principle has been the indiscriminate targeting of everything Palestinian, without exception," he said.

As part of the campaign, the coalition has produced video reports documenting the experiences of persons with disabilities, alongside testimonies from professionals working in Gaza’s humanitarian and medical sectors. These reports cover different aspects of the war’s impact, including forced displacement, direct attacks, and imprisonment, affecting individuals with a range of disabilities. The coalition aims to amplify these stories to Palestinian society and, more importantly, to Western audiences in alignment with the campaign’s outreach objectives.