Over 900 Wheelchairs for Gaza Children Stalled by Israeli Restrictions

The shipments, organized by the Kids on Wheels Alliance and Wheelchairs for Kids, were intended for the estimated 11,000 children in Gaza suffering from severe, life-changing injuries. According to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, which manages the storage facilities, applications to transport the equipment into the territory were denied by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The agency cited a failure to approve specific medical items for convoy inclusion, effectively stalling the process indefinitely.

While an Israeli government source denied an outright ban, the items may be caught in broad "dual-use" restrictions—rules that permit authorities to block goods deemed capable of serving military purposes. These wheelchairs, designed with adjustable frames and terrain-ready tires for Gaza’s rubble-strewn streets, are categorized by officials alongside items like X-ray machines and prosthetic components. Dr. Abdullah Al-Balawi of the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association criticized the policy, noting that the equipment poses no threat to security. Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have repeatedly characterized these arbitrary blockades as part of a wider pattern of restricting essential humanitarian aid, including sanitation supplies and shelter materials.