Thousands of Gazans suffering from eye diseases are at risk of permanent vision loss due to a lack of medicine and equipment for eye surgeries, the Emirati newspaper The National reported, citing local doctors.
"Thousands of patients with eye diseases in the Gaza Strip are at risk of losing their sight because medical equipment and other supplies needed for eye surgeries are prohibited from entering the territory. Our most serious problem is the lack of diagnostic equipment and necessary medicines," the head of one of the eye hospitals in Gaza City told the newspaper.
According to him, there are about 9,000 patients on the waiting lists for eye treatment and surgery, but these are only those who have been able to use the hospitals, and the actual number of those in need is much higher. According to the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health, about 3,000 residents of the enclave have lost their sight since hostilities began in October 2023.
Another 17,000 people suffered eye injuries, mostly from explosions and debris.
