Khaled: Left behind but not forgotten

Protection Risks Across Gaza

For the past two years, Gaza has been engulfed in escalating hostilities that have left no safe space for its population. Civilians face relentless bombardment, mass forced displacement, and the destruction of vital infrastructure. Even so-called “humanitarian zones” have been repeatedly targeted, shrinking the areas where families can seek refuge. DRC’s protection monitoring, carried out under the EU-supported Basic Needs Consortium (BNC), has shown that an increasing number of people no longer follow displacement orders, not because they feel safe, but because they have nowhere left to go. At extreme risk to their lives, they remain in unsafe areas, exhausted by repeated flight and the impossibility of survival on the move.

The most vulnerable—persons with disabilities, older persons, and single women without family support—are disproportionately impacted, often left behind in the chaos of evacuations. Their limited mobility, lack of resources, and absence of community networks put them at heightened risk of neglect, exploitation, and death. Recent monitoring data confirms that persons with disabilities face life-threatening challenges during displacement, including the inability to flee bombardments or access medical care, with many forced to crawl or rely on strangers to carry them to safety.

Beyond physical insecurity, Gaza is experiencing a mental health crisis of staggering scale. Extreme violence, the destruction of social fabric, overcrowded displacement sites, and the breakdown of protective community structures have unleashed widespread psychological suffering. Anxiety, depression, trauma, and unprocessed grief are reported across all age groups. Families describe children who have stopped speaking, adolescents showing aggression, and caregivers overwhelmed by despair. Protection monitoring respondents emphasize that interpersonal tensions and community violence, fueled by hunger, exhaustion, and lawlessness, are now among the greatest threats to personal safety.

The famine declared in August 2025 has further compounded protection risks. Hunger now shapes every aspect of life. Families report eating once a day, if at all, with children collapsing from weakness in queues for food. Women and girls in overcrowded shelters describe unsafe, undignified living conditions, including a lack of privacy and sanitation, leaving them vulnerable to harassment and gender-based violence. Meanwhile, older persons and people with disabilities are routinely excluded from access to aid, unable to queue for hours or reach distant, militarized distribution hubs.

This context frames the daily reality of displacement in Gaza: a place where survival itself is a struggle, and where protection is not a guarantee but a daily negotiation against overwhelming odds.

Identifying and Responding to Khaled’s Needs

During a protection monitoring visit to the Water Authority Shelter in the Middle Area on June 22, 2025, as part of EU-supported BNC activities, DRC staff met Khaled* (pseudonym), a 36-year-old man living with a permanent lower-body disability caused by an explosive gunshot wound in 2006.

Khaled lives with his wife and young son in a torn tent, alongside his mother and brothers’ families. Four families share the same area, each surviving in worn-out tents that offer almost no protection. His living environment was dire: a nearby open sewage pit, constant infestations of mosquitoes and rodents, unbearable heat, and a sponge mattress that left his body covered in painful sores.

He explained: “I often urinate on myself because I can’t move easily or reach the toilet. I urgently need an air mattress, urine bags, and a wheelchair to be able to go to the bathroom.”

Khaled’s displacement journey had been harrowing. Since October 2023, he had been forced to flee nine times. When his shelter in Jabalia was directly targeted, Khaled could not run like others. His wheelchair was useless on the rubble-strewn roads. Crawling for his life while an Israeli tank advanced, he was finally pulled to safety by a neighbour who risked his own life. Later, when his family had to move again, his wheelchair broke. Exhausted and terrified, his relatives carried him on a blanket through bombed roads and checkpoints.

At one stage of the journey, his family admitted they could not carry him any longer. They left him behind, and strangers were the ones who dragged him to safety. This experience of abandonment deepened his trauma, leaving him with profound feelings of invisibility and despair.

His suffering did not end upon arrival. In the camp, Khaled remained trapped in his tent, unable to move or protect his shelter, entirely dependent on others. He described constant anxiety, deep depression triggered by the sound of rockets, emotional numbness, and sleepless nights.

Restoring Safety and Dignity Through Protection Support

In response to the unprecedented scale of protection needs in Gaza, the DRC Protection Programme has focused on life-saving protection interventions designed to reach the most vulnerable. The programme combines direct case management with community-based protection, psychosocial support, and emergency referrals, ensuring that individuals at heightened risk are not left behind in displacement.

Through case management, a trained protection specialist works directly with persons facing acute risks, such as children separated from their families, survivors of gender-based violence, and persons with disabilities abandoned in overcrowded shelters. Each case is assessed individually, with tailored support provided through referrals to health services, provision of assistive devices, psychosocial counselling, or coordination with shelter actors.

Khaled’s case was discovered through protection monitoring conducted under the EU-funded Basic Needs Consortium (ECHO project), which supports DRC’s referral pathways and coordination mechanisms. His needs were identified through this monitoring, and DRC intervened promptly to reduce the protection risks arising from his disability.

Khaled’s case was prioritized. The protection specialist coordinated across multiple partners to reduce his risks:

Medical & Mobility Support: Referral to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) enabled him to receive treatment for his pressure sores and, crucially, a new wheelchair. For the first time in months, he regained independence and dignity, able to reach the latrine on his own.

Shelter & Sanitation: Through their partner PARC[1], also a partner of ECHO through the Basic Needs Consortium, DRC carried out essential site improvements. The sewage pit near his tent was repaired and cleaned, significantly reducing the risk of infection for him and the surrounding families.

Essential Items: Through Stars of Hope, Khaled received emergency diapers and was added to their regular distribution list. He was also provided with a medical mattress, with DRC coordinating electricity supply so it could be used safely.

Psychosocial Support: The protection specialist provided psychological first aid and referred him to specialized psychosocial services, addressing his feelings of neglect and despair.

Psychosocial support has been a cornerstone of the wider intervention, with the protection specialist offering psychological first aid and structured activities to restore dignity amidst the chaos of repeated displacement. In addition to support for persons with disabilities, parents and caregivers also participate in group sessions to manage stress while supporting their children’s mental health.

At the same time, DRC continues its protection monitoring, documenting violations and risks across Gaza. This monitoring not only informs advocacy but also ensures that urgent cases, like Khaled’s, are identified and linked directly to case management. Anchoring programming in community-level evidence ensures the response remains adaptive to the crisis.

The integrated approach—coordinating across health, shelter, and WASH actors—ensures that individuals like Khaled do not fall through the cracks of an overburdened system. While his vulnerabilities remain, his immediate protection risks have been significantly reduced, and his dignity has been restored.

[1] Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committee