DaysofPal – The Gaza Center for Human Rights has expressed grave concern over the alarming rise in eye injuries during Israel’s ongoing military assault on the Gaza Strip and over the continued prevention by Israeli occupation authorities of the entry of essential medical equipment needed to save eyesight and diagnose war-related injuries.
In a statement issued on Friday, the center said that the information it has gathered indicates that the Israeli army is deliberately causing permanent disabilities among Palestinian civilians, including through direct sniper targeting of their eyes, in addition to injuries caused by bombardment and the use of munitions that disperse large amounts of shrapnel.
The center stated that available data indicate that at least 1,700 Palestinians have lost their eyes over 25 months of genocide in the Gaza Strip, while nearly 5,000 others are at risk of partial or total vision loss due to deprivation of medical treatment.
It pointed out that the occupation has destroyed hospital infrastructure, generators, and surgical equipment and has prevented the entry of medicines, supplies, and medical consumables.
The center emphasized that the shortage of treatments has led to the worsening of serious conditions such as glaucoma, corneal diseases, retinal damage, and cataracts, threatening patients with permanent blindness.
It added that approximately 2,400 patients on waiting lists are in urgent need of surgical operations that cannot be performed inside Gaza due to the lack of capabilities.
In testimony to the center’s team, Dr. Iyad Abu Karsh, Head of the Surgery and Anesthesia Department at Gaza’s Eye Hospital, said that the hospital received 2,077 eye injury cases between January 2024 and September 2025.
He explained that eye injuries accounted for 5 percent of all war-related injuries during that period. Dr. Abu Karsh noted that these statistics only cover areas north of Wadi Gaza, meaning the actual number of eye injuries is significantly higher.
He explained that 18 percent of the injuries resulted in evisceration of the eye, 34 percent involved foreign bodies inside the eye, and 9 percent of the injured sustained damage to both eyes, greatly increasing the likelihood of complete and permanent blindness.
Dr. Abu Karsh outlined the gender distribution of the injured as follows: males accounted for 42 percent, females 28 percent, and children 30 percent.
The rights center noted that a large proportion of the injured are children and women, clearly reflecting that civilians are the most affected by the assault and confirming that civilians are being directly or indirectly targeted while attempting to secure their basic needs.
According to information gathered by the center’s team, the rate of eye injuries increased significantly during the peak of famine, as civilians were forced to go to aid distribution points located near areas of military deployment, where they were subjected to direct targeting while trying to obtain food and essential supplies.
Fourteen-year-old Mohammed A. said, “Because my family had no food, I went to the American aid distribution center in Rafah. The third time, there was heavy gunfire from snipers behind sand dunes. I was shot in my right eye. I was taken to the hospital two hours later, and it was later confirmed that I had lost my eye.”
The center stated that the Israeli army has not only inflicted injuries but has also deliberately deprived the wounded of treatment, whether by preventing travel or obstructing the entry of medical devices and equipment needed for care.
It warned that Gaza’s Eye Hospital is suffering from a severe shortage of essential diagnostic equipment required to deal with war injuries due to the occupation’s refusal to allow these devices to enter despite the willingness of international institutions to fully cover their costs. This forces medical staff to provide only initial care using simple tools and rudimentary equipment that are entirely inadequate given the scale and severity of the injuries.
According to medical teams, more than 50 percent of the injured require continuous treatment that is unavailable inside the Gaza Strip, either because basic medical supplies have run out or because their cases require specialized treatment outside the territory, something that is, in most cases, impossible due to border closures and travel restrictions.
The Gaza Center for Human Rights stressed that the continued prevention of the entry of medical equipment and supplies constitutes a crime of collective punishment and a flagrant violation of the occupying power’s obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The center called on the international community and the United Nations to take urgent action to pressure the occupation authorities to allow the immediate and unconditional entry of medical equipment needed to treat eye injuries and to open safe corridors to enable patients to access specialized treatment inside and outside the Gaza Strip.
It also called for urgent medical support for Gaza’s Eye Hospital and health facilities, including the provision of necessary equipment and the deployment of specialized medical teams to prevent further deterioration in cases of vision loss.
The center warned that the international community’s failure to address this humanitarian catastrophe only deepens the suffering of the wounded and encourages the occupation to continue policies that deprive patients of their right to treatment and a dignified life.
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