RAMALLAH: The number of Palestinians becoming disabled is expected to increase by 12,000 people as a result of the Israeli attacks, said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Quoting the bureau’s statement, the Palestine News Agency (WAFA) said the number of disabled people in Palestine before the attacks was 115,000.
This number represents 2.1 per cent of the population.
An Arabic-language statement issued in conjunction with the World Day of Persons with Disabilities on Sunday said the expected increase was due to a rise in the number of injured people with almost all of Gaza’s health facilities paralysed.
According to him, Israel’s military actions and aggression are the cause of at least one disability for every six per cent of Palestinians, aged 18 and over.
It also states that three out of every 25 children in Palestine suffer from one or more types of disability.
“Before the attack on the Gaza Strip, the number of disabled children, aged two to 17, for the year 2023 was estimated to be at 98,000.
“This number is expected to increase as it is estimated that 13,000 more children have experienced symptoms of depression since the attacks started,“ the statement added.
According to the World Health Organisation, about one billion or 15 per cent of the world’s population consists of people with disabilities and 80 per cent of this number are in developing countries.
This year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities was celebrated with the theme “United in action to rescue and achieve the SDGs for, with and by persons with disabilities”.–Bernama-WAFA
