{"id":33453,"date":"2026-06-12T13:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=33453"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:20:20","slug":"video-of-visually-impaired-palestinian-boy-crying-over-broken-glasses-draws-global-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=33453","title":{"rendered":"Video of visually impaired Palestinian boy crying over broken glasses draws global attention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ayoub Junaid, seven, was given a new pair but needs surgery as Gaza\u2019s children remain unable to access treatment<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A video of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Gaza<\/a> who suffers from a severe visual impairment crying over his shattered glasses has drawn widespread attention across social and international media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The footage of Ayoub Junaid has shone a light on the plight of the many visually impaired children in Gaza who, because of Israel\u2019s blockade and the devastation caused by the war, have been unable to access eye examinations, corrective lenses, or specialist ophthalmic surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the clip was viewed by tens of millions of people, Ayoub received a new pair of glasses. This good news, however, does not solve the underlying problem, as he urgently needs surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ayoub\u2019s mother, Eman Junaid, 30, displaced in the Gaza City port area, tells the Guardian her son\u2019s problem began when he was two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAyoub suffers from very severe nearsightedness after having a fever illness,\u201d she says. A doctor told Junaid that Ayoub\u2019s vision would gradually improve as he got older, but the opposite happened \u2013 the prescription he required increased and the lenses he now needs are not available in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were preparing to travel for treatment, but the war started and everything stopped,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ayoub<\/a>
Ayoub holding his damaged glasses on 2 June. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ayoub rarely leaves his tent, Junaid says. When he wants to play with his siblings or other children, he clings tightly to his glasses and moves with extreme caution. He does not run, jump or move freely. The doctors warned the family not to let him engage in strenuous activities because any fall or blow could cause further damage to his retinas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ayoub used to ask his mother why he was different from other children. He often asks her: \u201cWhy don\u2019t the other children wear glasses like me? Why can\u2019t I move like them? Why can\u2019t I go to school like them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of April, while walking with a family member along a road strewn with rubble, he fell and struck his face<\/a> on the ground, breaking the glasses,\u201d his mother says. \u201cHe burst into tears, rolled on the ground and desperately tried to piece them back together. For Ayoub, those glasses were everything. Even with them, he cannot see clearly and often has to hold objects just inches from his face. But without them, he can barely move around at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His family says the time Ayoub spent without glasses was particularly distressing. For three or four days, he rarely left a corner of the tent and was unable to move around without assistance. When he tried to walk on his own, he would crouch close to the ground, bringing his eyes near the floor in an effort to make out his surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relatives said they repeatedly tried to repair his glasses, but the damaged lenses could not be fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe video<\/a> I shared was filmed after we reached the tent,\u201d his mother says. \u201cIn the street, he was crying even more and saying he wanted to fix his glasses because he could not see without them. After the video spread, donors helped us and we were able to get a new pair of glasses, but it is still not the correct prescription he needs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to his family, Ayoub\u2019s emotional state has shown signs of improvement. In recent days, he has appeared more willing to interact with visitors and those offering support. While the change remains modest, his family says it has brought them a sense of relief and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ayoub<\/a>
Ayoub gives a thumbs up while wearing his new glasses. Photograph: Eman Junaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Health officials in Gaza say the war has devastated eye care services, leaving thousands of visually impaired patients without treatment amid severe shortages of medical equipment and surgical supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospitals are lacking key items, including surgical microscopes and phaco machines. Officials say more than 2,800 patients are currently waiting for cataract surgery alone, while the total backlog for eye procedures, including corneal transplants, glaucoma operations and reconstructive surgery, exceeds 4,000 cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this, Israeli bombardment around medical facilities has forced the temporary shutdown<\/a> of Gaza City\u2019s Government Eye Hospital, the only public eye care centre in the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current situation clearly shows a shortage in all medical consumables and surgical tools,\u201d says Dr Hussam Dawoud, a senior consultant in ophthalmology and eye surgery and the director of the hospital. \u201cCurrently, we are providing services at around 60% of what we used to offer before the war. The main reason is that Israel is preventing the entry of medical equipment and surgical instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors have also reported a sharp rise in severe corneal infections, which they attribute to overcrowded living conditions, poor sanitation and limited access to medication, with some patients suffering permanent vision loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their situation is part of a broader humanitarian crisis<\/a> affecting Gaza\u2019s children. There are more child amputees per inhabitant<\/a> in the territory than anywhere else in the world. Tens of thousands of young people who are sick or injured remain in need of urgent medical treatment, while many who require specialised care outside the territory have yet to be evacuated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the latest figures from health officials in Gaza, an estimated 4,000 children are in urgent need of medical evacuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA child who breaks their glasses may remain effectively blind for a long time because replacement glasses are impossible to find,\u201d says Dr Irdi Memaj, a surgeon working in Gaza with the humanitarian organisation Emergency. \u201cAround 40% of the patients treated at our clinic in al-Qarara are children under the age of 14. One of the most recent concerns has been infestations of parasites and rats<\/a>, with numerous reports of children being bitten by rodents while they sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reached by the Guardian, the Israeli Defense Ministry\u2019s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories rejected accusations over restrictions on Gaza. \u201cIsrael is working to allow and facilitate the entry of all required medical equipment and continues to facilitate the entry into Gaza of trucks carrying medical supplies without any quantitative restrictions,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reference Link:- https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/jun\/12\/video-visually-impaired-palestinian-boy-gaza-ayoub-junaid-crying-broken-glasses<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ayoub Junaid, seven, was given a new pair but needs surgery as Gaza\u2019s children remain unable to access treatment A video of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Gaza who suffers from a severe visual impairment crying over his shattered glasses has drawn widespread attention across social and international media. The footage of Ayoub Junaid has shone a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[23876,30416,10003,26287,10186,5392,25702,17576,23750],"class_list":["post-33453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sample-category","tag-agression-2","tag-desvastation","tag-genocide-2","tag-invasion","tag-israeli-atricities","tag-israeli-brutalities-2","tag-israeli-war-crimes-2","tag-palestine-2","tag-starvation-2","post_format-post-format-aside"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33453"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33456,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33453\/revisions\/33456"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}