As Israel’s unrelenting military assault on the besieged Gaza Strip continues, the Palestinian health sector has sounded the alarm over a catastrophic collapse in ophthalmic services.

According to medical sources, at least 1,500 Palestinians have already lost their vision, with over 4,000 more now at imminent risk of permanent blindness due to the complete breakdown of essential surgical care.

Doctors and hospital administrators describe scenes of horror as Gaza’s Eye Hospital — the territory’s only specialized facility for vision-related surgeries — teeters on the edge of shutdown. After months of indiscriminate bombardment, medical staff are now operating with just three reusable surgical scissors, a dire shortage that drastically elevates the risks of infection and surgical failure.

“The Israeli aggression has deliberately destroyed not just homes and infrastructure, but also Gaza’s capacity to care for the wounded,” said one ophthalmologist, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. “Our hospital, once a lifeline for those suffering from retinal diseases, diabetic retinopathy, and war-related trauma, is now barely able to function.”

Crucial surgical materials — including hyaluronic acid and ultra-fine ophthalmic sutures — have all but run out. These materials are indispensable in repairing severe eye injuries caused by shelling and shrapnel. Without them, doctors say, treating even minor injuries becomes impossible, and preventable blindness is becoming widespread.

Medical professionals on the ground warn that without an immediate international humanitarian airlift of surgical tools and medicines, Gaza will completely lose its ability to perform eye surgeries within days — a devastating development for a population already enduring relentless suffering under siege.

Human rights observers have condemned the systematic destruction of Gaza’s health sector as part of a broader Israeli campaign of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing, accusing Israel of intentionally crippling medical infrastructure in violation of international humanitarian law.

“This is not just a medical crisis — this is a war crime,” said a spokesperson from a European medical NGO operating in Gaza. “Blinding thousands of civilians by depriving them of basic care is an act of brutal, calculated inhumanity.”

The call for immediate international action grows louder as Gaza’s health care workers battle to save what remains of their collapsing system. In the words of one exhausted surgeon: “We are trying to heal the blind while the world closes its eyes.” (ILKHA)