Gaza’s visually and hearing-impaired children miss school due to Israel war

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports from Gaza City that children with visual and hearing impairments are struggling to continue their education amid the destruction and displacement caused by Israel’s war on the enclave. The article focuses on 13-year-old Kenan al-Sabaa, whose hearing aid is malfunctioning and whose former school, Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, was damaged and later used as a shelter for displaced families. His father says Kenan missed school for much of the first year of the war and now attends only a few hours a week at a temporary learning space.

The report says Gaza’s disabled children face a wider collapse in specialist services, including shortages of hearing-aid parts, batteries, Braille materials and access to testing or treatment. A sign-language interpreter and disability advocate with Atfaluna told Al Jazeera that the war has worsened hearing-related injuries and left many children in overcrowded shelters with little privacy or support. The article also notes that children with visual impairments are losing access to institutions and tools they need to study independently.

One example is the al-Noor school for blind students in northern Gaza, which Al Jazeera says was badly damaged and forced to close. Former counsellor Duaa Omar Basheer warned that students risk losing Braille and independent-learning skills. The story also describes 12-year-old Jana Shreim, whose broken glasses could not be replaced because of the blockade, leaving her increasingly dependent on her family for mobility and daily tasks. The report underscores how war damage, shortages and repeated displacement are interrupting education for disabled children and deepening long-term inequality.