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Palestinian ambulances on site after an Israeli airstrike targeted several homes in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, May 2025.
Yahya, a sixteen-year-old from Gaza, sits in the backyard of his family’s tent, trying to feel the fresh air on his face. He has had enough of lying on his thin mattress inside the tent, doing nothing but staring at the shadows on the walls for hours at a time. The small patch of open space behind the tent feels like a fragile escape from the confinement of his daily life.
Yahya lost his eyesight in 2023 after an Israeli strike hit a house nearby; the resulting shrapnel injured his eye. “I still remember that day,” he recalls. “I was passing by with my friend. After the explosion, I was lying on the ground as I heard Ahmed—my friend—calling me, his voice coming with an echo.”
When Ahmed asked him if he was okay, Yahya replied: “I cannot see.” At first, his friend thought he was joking. Soon after, he called an ambulance, and Yahya was rushed to al-Shifa Hospital.
Yahya didn’t receive the initial proper treatment for his eye injury due to the large number of patients and the reduced capacity of Gaza’s health care system. Over the last two years, he has been able to receive some treatment—but its availability has been dependent on the opening of the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza and the delivery of medication into the enclave, which has been rare.
People are especially vulnerable to eye injuries during a conflict, including from explosives and flying debris. According to the director of an eye hospital in Gaza, there have been about 17,000 eye injuries during the war. A study by Children Not Numbers found that nearly half of children seen at four major hospitals in Gaza between March and September 2024 had suffered traumatic eye injuries caused by explosions or penetrating trauma.
Before the war, Yahya was an outgoing teenager who loved to wander through the streets of his neighborhood in Gaza and enjoy the company of his family and friends. He moved through the city with a freedom that now seems almost unimaginable. Now, he stays inside his tent for most of the day. His routine has become dull and repetitive, and he depends on his mother and sisters for even the smallest tasks, like going to the bathroom, bringing him food and water, and leaving the tent to get fresh air.
When he can, he listens to videos and social media reels of Palestinian folk songs and the news, which fill the void that Yahya’s vision loss has left in a life once full of motion and activity. These fleeting glimpses into the outside world are both comforting and painful, reminding him of the freedom he once had. Occasionally, Yahya tries to make himself helpful to those around him in small ways like handing tools to his father as he repairs their tent. These gestures matter greatly to his father, who Yahya calls his best friend. “I feel guilty when my father stays home instead of going to work because he’s afraid to leave me alone,” Yahya says.
Yahya has repeatedly visited Gaza’s Ministry of Health, seeking permission to travel abroad for treatment to restore his eyesight, which he hasn’t been able to access due to the Israeli siege. But he’s currently trapped in bureaucratic limbo. Each time he makes the request, he receives the same response: Thousands of others are also waiting for medical treatment, and Israeli authorities have severely restricted medical evacuations. He was initially hopeful that he would be allowed to seek treatment abroad, but has grown frustrated as years have passed without any answers. The list of people in need of medical evacuation has grown longer—and he is still living without eyesight.
On February 2, the Rafah crossing reopened for the first time since May 2024, which will allow some Palestinians in Gaza to travel for medical treatment. However, only 150 people are expected to be allowed to exit each day. More than 18,500 people, including 4,000 children, in Gaza are waiting for a medical evacuation, according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The medical evacuation application process requires an exam by a physician in Gaza, referral committee approval, and Israeli security clearance approval. Evacuations have decreased since Israel took control of Gaza’s side of the Rafah border crossing in May 2024, and only a few countries can receive patients from Gaza.
Before losing his sight, Yahya dreamt of becoming a technical specialist in modern electric cars; now, he’s had to replace ambition with survival. His hopes have since narrowed to the most basic desires: to see again, to regain his independence, and to return to supporting his family. Once earning about 1,000 shekels (approximately $300) a month through small trade jobs like selling gasoline, Yahya now struggles to afford even basic clothing. With his father unemployed after losing his job during the war, the family’s future remains uncertain.
“All I crave is to see again and live my life while I still can,” Yahya says. “I am still young. I don’t want the darkness to be the end of my story.”