‘I lost my family, my home, my sight’: Israel blinds thousands in Gaza

As they indiscriminately bomb and shoot Palestinians, Israeli forces block evacuations and obliterate medical infrastructure, leaving thousands with preventable blindness

An injured man has a bandage placed on his face in an ambulance at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City on 4 January 2025 (AFP/Omar al-Qattaa)

An injured man has a bandage placed on his face in an ambulance at the Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City on 4 January 2025 (AFP/Omar al-Qattaa)

Off

In a cramped corridor at Gaza's Eye Hospital, dozens of Palestinian patients stand packed together.

Around 10 are seated on chairs, while most lean against the walls, and some women rest on the floor.

The elderly and the young fill the space, their faces etched with exhaustion, emaciation and grief.

What binds them together is a desperate need for treatment for one or both eyes.

Among them is 11-year-old Maria Rihan.

Over three months ago, an Israeli air strike obliterated her home, killing her entire family and leaving her with severe eye injuries.

Now, she endures a living nightmare, trapped in the chaotic hospital corridors.

“In a single moment I lost my family, my home and my sight,” Rihan told Middle East Eye.

“I never imagined I would lose my sight completely,” she added.

“I cannot describe how sad and broken I feel because I can no longer see.”

According to Palestinian health officials, at least 1,500 people have lost their eyesight during the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

'I long to see the light again, just as I long to see my parents and siblings'

- Maria Rihan, Palestinian girl

Many were blinded by direct impacts from shrapnel and gunfire, while others suffered permanent vision loss due to a lack of medical care after Israeli forces attacked hospitals.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 more are at risk of blindness and are unable to receive the necessary treatment.

Their plight stems from the Israeli destruction of key medical facilities, including a raid on Gaza’s main eye hospital, compounded by the forced displacement of many specialised doctors.

‘I long to see my parents’

Rihan is just one of them.

Her suffering began on 9 June, when an Israeli strike hit her home in Jabalia refugee camp.

The bombing turned her father, mother, brother and sisters “into corpses”, the girl said.

She was wounded and trapped under rubble.

“I didn’t fully understand what had happened to me, the nature of my injury, or what became of my family,” she recalled.

“I thought I would certainly die.”

Maria Rihan, 11, pictured before (R) and after (L) her injury (Supplied)

Her uncle, Mohammed Rihan, 25, said civil defence teams couldn’t reach the targeted area due to a nearby Israeli military assault.

Her relatives were forced to use primitive tools to extract her from under the rubble after hours, and transferred her and her sister to al-Shifa Hospital late at night.

The hospital, overwhelmed by the volume of injuries, struggled to diagnose and treat its cases.

Doctors referred Rihan to the Gaza Eye Hospital for an emergency operation due to her severe injury.

Because of the influx of wounded and the collapse of the medical system, she didn’t enter the operating room until two days later, resulting in complete vision loss in her right eye and near-total damage to her left.

“I don’t know what saddens me more: losing my sight, my parents and family, or our home,” Rihan said.

“I long to see the light again, just as I long to see my parents and siblings,” she added.

“I miss my toys, my books, my notebooks, and going out to the street. I don’t know what sin I committed to lose my sight and have my life disrupted at only 11 years old.”

Blocked medical evacuations

Although the attack left Rihan completely blind in her right eye, doctors decided against operating on her left eye, arguing that her vision could potentially be restored through advanced procedures abroad, treatments currently unavailable in Gaza.

Her uncle Mohammed has taken full responsibility for her care since her injury, especially in the absence of her parents.

“Maria is now the responsibility of her grandfather, grandmother, and me. We are all trying to help her overcome the acute psychological crisis caused by losing her sight and her family,” he told MEE.

“We live in tragic conditions in a tent in western Gaza after our house was destroyed, forcing us to flee Jabalia in northern Gaza. Our priority now is for Maria to get treatment abroad and regain part of her sight.”

Palestinian healthcare workers are the true heroes

Since the genocide in Gaza began in October 2023, Israeli forces have killed over 62,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 150,000.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with various countries, has facilitated evacuations for a small percentage of patients since then.

According to the UN agency, over 7,000 wounded and sick individuals have left Gaza for treatment abroad.

A further 15,000 urgently await the same chance, with their conditions at risk of worsening or becoming fatal. Thousands more require care but are not yet classified as critical.

Medical evacuations are blocked by Israel, which has imposed a tight siege on Gaza since the start of the war.

At the current pace, it could take five to 10 years to transfer all those in critical need of medical treatment, according to the WHO.

“Two weeks after Maria’s injury, I submitted all required documents to the WHO,” Mohammed told MEE.

“I’m still waiting for a response.”

Hospital destroyed by Israel

At Gaza’s Eye Hospital, the situation is nothing short of catastrophic, said Dr Majed Kaheel, a consultant ophthalmologist and senior physician.

Speaking to MEE, Kaheel described how the facility - Gaza’s primary eye care centre - is overwhelmed by a flood of patients it can no longer adequately treat.

A massive number of patients arrive daily, including those with chronic conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and paediatric eye cancer, alongside those suffering severe eye trauma from Israeli attacks.

“Diabetic patients need regular laser sessions or intraocular injections,” Kaheel explained.

“But with our laser equipment destroyed [in Israeli strikes] and injections unavailable, we’re powerless to save their vision.”

Glaucoma patients, too, are at risk of permanent blindness, he said, with no access to essential visual field tests, intraocular pressure monitoring, or surgical intervention due to a lack of equipment and functioning operating rooms.

“We mustn’t forget the dozens of children with eye cancer who couldn’t be referred abroad and ended up losing their sight,” he added. “Some no longer require treatment - because they were killed in air strikes.”

While the Palestinian Ministry of Health has yet to release official figures on eye-related injuries from the war, Kaheel shared internal data collected by the hospital’s medical team.

'We're powerless to save their vision'

- Dr Majed Kaheel, consultant ophthalmologist

In June alone, 20 percent of war-related injuries were to the eyes, of which 40 percent resulted in total blindness.

“Tragically, that rate rose in July to 28 percent, coinciding with the shootings at aid distribution points,” Kaheel said.

“Many people were shot while waiting for food. Even those who didn’t lose their sight are left with severe visual impairments.”

He emphasised that visually impaired people are among the war’s most vulnerable, especially as displacement continues and many are forced to live in tents.

“They’re far more likely to suffer additional injuries,” Kaheel said.

“Unpaved roads, makeshift toilets, and the chaos of crowded camps increase the risk of falls and further harm.

“A blind or visually impaired person depends on others to navigate this already dire environment of tents and shared facilities. It deepens the suffering for everyone.”

Israel's genocide in Gaza

Gaza City, occupied Palestine

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