Eye Hospital: 1,200 new cases of total or partial blindness recorded in Gaza

The director of Gaza's Eye Hospital, Abdul Salam Sabah, announced that nearly 1,200 new cases of total or partial blindness have been recorded over the past two weeks in the Nasr neighborhood and Gaza City alone.

Sabah told Voice of Palestine that approximately 1,500 cases of total or partial blindness had been recorded as a result of direct eye injuries, in addition to cases of gradual blindness due to chronic diseases that worsened due to the lack of appropriate treatment.

Sabah explained that between 4,000 and 5,000 patients who regularly visited the eye hospital before the war are now without medical follow-up or treatment and are at risk of losing their sight. He emphasized that severe malnutrition leads to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, which weaken the optic nerves and increase the likelihood of gradual vision loss and impairment, especially for diabetics.

Since March 2, 2025, the occupying forces have closed all crossings with the Gaza Strip and prevented the entry of food and medical aid, causing a famine to spread within the Strip.

It is worth noting that the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has so far resulted in the martyrdom of 58,895 citizens, the majority of whom are children and women, and the injury of 140,980 others, in a preliminary toll, as a number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets, and ambulance and rescue crews are unable to reach them.