Gaza Herald – The Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented health crisis, with nearly 17,000 eye injuries reported among civilians since the genocide began on 7 October 2023. Children account for a significant portion of these cases, compounding fears of long-term visual disability across Palestinian society.
Medical sources confirmed that the sheer volume of injuries has overwhelmed Gaza’s health system. Hospitals are unable to perform urgent surgical interventions due to a lack of precision equipment and continued restrictions on essential medical supplies, turning treatable eye injuries into permanent blindness.
Thousands of injuries involved penetrating trauma or shrapnel lodged inside the eye, requiring immediate attention. Delays in treatment have already left over 3,000 people permanently blind, with the true figure likely higher as documentation continues. Northern Gaza alone has seen thousands of such severe cases.
Human rights experts warn that causing permanent civilian disabilities, whether through targeted attacks or weapons with indiscriminate effects, violates international humanitarian law. The prevention of medical equipment and diagnostic tools from entering Gaza constitutes collective punishment and breaches the occupying power’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions.
Alongside this health catastrophe, the daily killing of civilians continues, including large numbers of women and children. These attacks, coupled with enforced medical deprivation and the siege, have created enduring humanitarian consequences, leaving a generation of Palestinians facing death, disability, and long-term suffering.
