GAZA, (PIC)
In a precedent that is the first since the outbreak of the Israeli war of genocide on the Gaza Strip, doctors at the Eye Hospital in Gaza City succeeded in performing a cornea transplant operation for a Palestinian female patient, using a cornea donated by a Palestinian who was martyred as a result of an Israeli bombardment, in light of the siege and the prevention of entering corneas and medical supplies into the Strip.
A medical team headed by the director of the Eye Hospital and consultant of cornea transplantation Dr. Husam Dawoud performed the operation for the patient Beirut Al-Nakhala, 33, who was suffering from keratoconus and an almost complete loss of vision in her left eye.
The transplanted cornea belonged to a Palestinian who recommended donating his organs before his martyrdom in an Israeli bombardment that targeted Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip on May sixteen, in a step described as a glimmer of hope to revive the cornea transplantation program that has been suspended for months due to the war.
Suffering worsened during the war
Al-Nakhala told Anatolia Agency that her health and visual condition deteriorated significantly during the war as a result of displacement, smoke, and the continuous power outages.
She added that she was mainly relying on her right eye, but it also weakened with the continuation of the harsh conditions, while the vision in her left eye became almost non-existent and does not exceed a few centimeters.
She explained that she was listed on the referral lists for treatment outside the Strip, but she was unable to travel due to the continuous closure of the crossings and the disruption of medical evacuation operations.
She said that she did not expect the possibility of performing a cornea transplant inside Gaza in light of the war and the siege, noting that the hospital contacting her to inform her of the possibility of performing the operation formed an unexpected moment of hope.
She also expressed her gratitude to the family of the martyr who agreed to donate the cornea, saying that the martyr passed away but left an impact that gives life and hope to others.
Resumption of the cornea transplantation program
For his part, Dr. Husam Dawoud said that the operation represents the first case within the resumption of the national campaign for cornea transplantation, which had stopped completely since the outbreak of the war.
He explained that the medical teams were able during the past months to provide the minimum level of surgical tools, sutures, and necessary medical materials, after efforts that lasted for about three months to restart the program.
He added that more than 300 patients are currently registered on the waiting lists to undergo cornea transplant operations, in light of the inability of many of them to travel for treatment outside the Strip.
He pointed out that bringing in corneas from abroad has become almost impossible due to the Israeli siege and the closure of the crossings, which prompted doctors to rely on local donation from the martyrs and the deceased after the approval of their relatives.
Dawoud called on international institutions and countries supporting the health sector to provide the basic supplies necessary for the continuation of cornea transplant operations, including surgical sutures, preservative materials, and specialized medical tools.
A worsening health crisis
The health sector in Gaza faces a continuous collapse as a result of the war and the siege, with a severe shortage of medicines and medical consumables, at a time when the loss of specialized services threatens hundreds of patients with the risk of permanent blindness.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza has been demanding for months to accelerate the medical evacuation operations for thousands of patients and wounded, stressing that the limited numbers allowed to leave do not meet the worsening humanitarian needs.
According to previous statements by the spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society Raed Al-Nims, more than 18,000 patients and wounded are still waiting for medical evacuation outside the Strip.
Before the war, hundreds of Palestinians used to cross daily through the crossings for treatment or travel, while Israel pledged to reopen the crossings within the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that entered into force on October 10, 2025, but it did not comply with that.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel continues its war on the Gaza Strip with American support, which has resulted in the martyrdom of more than 72,000 martyrs and around 172,000 wounded, alongside widespread destruction that affected around 90% of the civilian infrastructure in the Strip.
In the same context, the World Health Organization adopted on Friday a draft resolution regarding the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories, which focused on the health and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and called for providing urgent funding to rehabilitate the Palestinian health system.