Forgotten Survivors: New DRC Report Reveals Systematic Failure to Assist Gaza’s Explosive Weapons Victims

The report’s findings reveal the devastating fallout of explosive weapons injuries: 

• 59% of injuries occurred during everyday survival activities, such as searching for food, clearing rubble, or returning to damaged homes. 

• 56% of assessed victims are expected to live with permanent impairments. 

• 88% of victims lost their jobs due to their injuries, and 66% remain unable to return to work. 

• 26% of victims reported experiencing suicidal ideation, reflecting the profound emotional toll of cumulative injury and social hardship. 

The report highlights that harm is not an unfortunate side effect, but a foreseeable consequence of weapons used in areas where daily life unfold. 

• Mohammad, was simply waiting in line outside a bakery when shelling struck the area. The resulting shrapnel caused severe injuries that have fundamentally altered his life. 

• Mustafa was sheltering with his family inside their home when a drone-fired missile struck the building. His experience reflects a broader pattern of civilians being injured in the very places they seek protection. 

• The physical pain is often compounded by despair. One victim shared the depth of this crisis: “I am very tired and I had thoughts that it would be better off being dead instead of living this difficult life”.  

DRC is calling on the international community and donors to move beyond emergency aid and fund integrated, survivor-centered assistance that includes long-term rehabilitation and socio-economic inclusion. 

“Deliberate impediments to provision of humanitarian aid, lack of sufficient international pressure on Israeli authorities to remove these restrictions, and inadequate donor funding are failing an entire population, including thousands of victims of explosive weapons. Six months after the ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza continue to fight for survival every day. We cannot look away. Now more than ever, they need both our support and sustained pressure on leaders to fulfill the promise of the ceasefire agreement,’’ said Mr. Moseley.