Gaza City – With the help of his father, 13-year-old Kenan al-Sabaa attempts to adjust his hearing aid, which has malfunctioned. The plastic tubing and rubber ear mould on the device need fixing, but these parts and the depleted batteries are no longer available due to Israel’s siege on the Gaza Strip. Before Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza started in October 2023, Kenan attended the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, which provided specialist teaching and opportunities to communicate with other hearing-impaired children.
But Atfaluna’s building in Gaza City was partially levelled during the war and quickly turned into an overcrowded shelter for displaced people, an example of the widespread destruction of infrastructure in Gaza. This includes the educational institutions disabled children rely upon. Israeli attacks also forced Kenan’s family to flee to Gaza City’s Jalaa Street.
Atfaluna has since set up temporary learning spaces, and Kenan has access to one near where his family now lives. But his father, Tamer al-Sabaa, said the interruptions to his learning during the war have left his son far behind in his studies. He did not attend school at all during the first year of the war, and now attends classes only for a few hours a week, which Tamer says is not enough given the time he has lost at school during the war.
But Tamer fears that if Israel resumes large-scale attacks – an October 2025 “ceasefire” reduced the number of attacks but did not stop them – he will be forced to stop Kenan from attending. Kenan can now reach school independently, but his safety is always a concern for his parents. The difficulties facing Kenan highlight the effect of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, on disabled children in the enclave.
Fadel Kuraz, a sign language interpreter and disability rights advocate with Atfaluna, said the war has increased hearing-related injuries and severely weakened the services available to children who need support. Today, according to field assessments, approximately 35,000 new individuals … have been added, having suffered total or partial hearing loss due to … explosions.” Kuraz describes shortages of hearing aids, batteries, ear moulds, and spare parts, alongside major obstacles to specialist hearing tests and treatments. Children also face difficulties accessing visual learning materials because of electricity and communications outages, he said.
A deaf child suffers high levels of fear, stress and complex trauma without the ability to verbally express what is on their mind,” Kuraz told Al Jazeera. Hearing-impaired children in Gaza are more often than not living in overcrowded tents or shelters which lack privacy or a proper space to do homework and study. The materials and items they need to study, such as Braille, are also difficult to procure due to Israel’s siege on Gaza.
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