On the brink of blindness: Gaza faces 'unprecedented wave of eye injuries' due to Israel's war

In a nearly silent operating room at the Eye Hospital in western Gaza City, time is not measured in minutes, but by the number of eyes that may lose their sight before their turn comes. Inactive machines, dim lights, and shelves almost empty surround doctors struggling against a collapsing health system and the continued closure of the Rafah crossing, despite more than three months since the supposed ceasefire in Gaza.

Here, many hopelessly wait for a missing medical component, a medicine that Israeli authorities have not allowed to enter, or a medical referral stuck due to the crossing being closed. With every day of delay, the operating room shifts from a space of rescue into a heavy zone of anxiety, suspended between helplessness and hope.

13-year-old Tamim al-Khatib was recently admitted to the Eye Hospital.

"In September 2025, I was standing in a long line to get bread for my family in the al-Nasr neighbourhood, west of Gaza City. Suddenly, a strike hit near the area. Missile shrapnel penetrated my face and struck my right eye directly," he described to The New Arab about how Israel's war led him to lose his eye.

The child survived death, but one of his eyes did not. With the absence of advanced surgical capabilities inside the besieged coastal enclave, doctors were unable to save al-Khatib's sight or fully repair the damage. 

Tamim said he now moves between limited examinations and repeatedly postponed appointments. At the same time, doctors fear the damage could extend to his healthy eye, amid the absence of precise medical devices, a severe shortage of surgical supplies, and the impossibility of travelling outside Gaza for treatment.

"My son was not fighting; he was looking for bread. Today, I fear he will grow up seeing the world with only one eye… or perhaps with no eyes at all," his father, Azzam al-Khatib, said in a voice heavy with helplessness and despair. 

The father called for the immediate reopening of the Rafah crossing to allow his child and thousands of wounded people to travel abroad for proper treatment, in light of the collapse of Gaza's medical system.

Postponed medical operations

Blindness in Gaza is not limited to war injuries alone. Some children have never seen the world at all since birth, and even before Israel's genocidal war, they had no chance to try.

Masa al-Najjar, a one-year-old girl, was born as Gaza was drowning in Israeli bombardment and forced displacement. From her first month of life, her eyes began losing their natural features. The colour of her eyes changed, the cornea gradually faded, until doctors confirmed the harsh diagnosis: severe glaucoma in both eyes, a dangerous condition marked by high intraocular pressure that threatens complete atrophy of the optic nerve if not treated quickly and precisely.

Her mother, Khadija al-Najjar, said to TNA, "Masa underwent two surgeries in an attempt to save whatever could be saved of her vision. But operations that are usually performed within a complete treatment protocol were carried out in Gaza with insufficient tools, support, and follow-up, leaving Masa today on the brink of permanent blindness."

Masa lives with her mother in a tent after the family home was destroyed in Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. While the child should be receiving continuous medical care, her mother is forced to purchase some eye drops at her own expense, despite their high cost and the family’s lack of any source of income.

"Every day, I fear waking up to discover that my daughter can no longer see. Doctors say time is crucial, but time is being lost while we remain besieged," the mother said, as she watches her daughter's eyes with unrelenting anxiety.

With the absence of specialised treatment and Israel's denial of travel for medical care outside, glaucoma transforms from a manageable disease into a suspended sentence of blindness.

Widespread catastrophe

The director of the Eye Hospital under Gaza's Ministry of Health, Dr Abd al-Salam Sabah, told TNA that the estimated number of war casualties in Gaza has exceeded 171,000 injuries. He noted that around 11 per cent of these are eye injuries, amounting to nearly 17,000 ocular cases, including children who make up about 20 per cent of them.

Sabah warned that these figures reflect a broad health catastrophe. "We are facing an unprecedented wave of eye injuries, especially among children, who are the most vulnerable to losing their sight due to the sensitivity of the eye and weak immunity. This signals a dangerous rise in the number of people with visual disabilities within society," he said.

The director further noted that the number of patients who have lost their sight since the start of the war has exceeded 3,000 and that the real numbers are likely much higher as new cases continue to be recorded daily.

He stressed that the hospital is operating under pressure far beyond its capacity, receiving around 200 patients every day, including those with direct war injuries, children suffering from severe eye diseases, and chronic patients who rely on regular interventions. 

Sabah added that children are the most fragile group in this situation, stressing that vision loss at an early age not only leaves medical consequences but also carries long-term psychological, social, and educational impacts.

Explaining the nature of critical injuries, the doctor said, "A large number of patients arrive with shrapnel that penetrated the eyeball. These cases require immediate surgical intervention within a few hours. Any delay leads to severe intraocular infections that may end with the complete removal of the eye, which we are forced to do in some cases."

Sabah warned that the remaining stock can barely last beyond one month, meaning that a complete halt to surgical operations is approaching, at a time when the number of patients in urgent need of intervention continues to rise.

He pointed out that the hospital has suffered extensive destruction affecting operating rooms, electricity systems, alternative power sources, and advanced diagnostic equipment, particularly phaco machines used for cataract surgery.

"The destruction of these devices dealt a direct blow to our ability to save vision. Cataract surgeries are among the most common procedures, and their suspension means pushing hundreds of patients toward gradual vision loss," he said.

Sabah stressed that restrictions on patients travelling outside Gaza for treatment have further worsened the situation, especially for cases requiring advanced procedures unavailable locally, such as complex retinal repairs, corneal transplants, and treatment of deep shrapnel injuries.

"Many patients receive clear medical reports stating the urgent need to travel for treatment, yet they remain trapped behind closed crossings. For eye injuries, time is a decisive factor, and any delay can turn treatable cases into permanent blindness," he concluded.