Palestinians took part in a wheelchair marathon to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Gaza City.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Social Development in Gaza said there are some 53,000 people living with some form of disability in the conflict-plagued enclave wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

The United Nations has marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 every year since 1992.

People with disabilities can face an "extraordinarily difficult" life in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli blockade and a lack of assistance from Islamist rulers Hamas, Human Rights Watch warned on Thursday.

Two million Palestinians live in the poverty and conflict-plagued enclave wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.

In a report released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, HRW said the 2007 blockade Israel imposed on the territory following Hamas's rise to power had "robbed people with disabilities in Gaza of their freedom of movement".