Tens of thousands of people in Gaza have suffered significant hearing damage due to Israeli bombing since October 2023, the UN said Saturday.
It also said that many people with disabilities have lost their assistive devices such as hearing aids and wheelchairs because of the war.
The UN published the report to mark the International Day of Deafblindness on 27 June.
UN agencies say the war has increased the vulnerability of people with disabilities amid widespread destruction, repeated displacement, a collapse in healthcare services and a severe shortage of medical devices.
Doctors have seen a “dramatic increase” in hearing-related injuries among children and adults since the start of the war, Ramadan Hussein, of the Gaza-based Aftaluna Society for Deaf Children, told The New Arab.
“We are seeing cases of ruptured eardrums, inner ear trauma, severe tinnitus, dizziness, and both partial and profound hearing loss,” Hussein said.
“In many cases, the damage is permanent, particularly when patients cannot receive immediate medical treatment or rehabilitation.”
The report highlights a lesser-reported impact of what is regarded to be one of the heaviest bombing campaigns of modern history.
Human rights monitor Euro-Med estimates that Israel dropped about 70,000 tons of munitions on Gaza in the first six months of the war, far exceeding the combined bombings of London, Hamburg and Dresden during World War II. Gaza authorities put the figure at 100,000 in May 2025.
Hearing damage caused by the powerful blast waves could mean life or death for a population under almost constant attack by Israeli forces.
