A video of a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in Gaza crying over his shattered glasses has done what international diplomacy could not: generated widespread attention. The footage of Ayoub Junaid, who suffers from severe nearsightedness, has been viewed by tens of millions of people across social and international media. The good news? He got a new pair of glasses. The bad news? They're still not the correct prescription, and the underlying problem - a war that has devastated eye care services - remains stubbornly unsolved.

Ayoub's mother, Eman Junaid, 30, displaced in the Gaza City port area, told the Guardian her son's problem began when he was two after a fever illness. A doctor predicted his vision would improve with age, but instead the prescription required increased, and the lenses he now needs are not available in Gaza. "We were preparing to travel for treatment, but the war started and everything stopped," she added.

Ayoub rarely leaves his tent, clinging tightly to his glasses and moving with extreme caution. He does not run, jump or move freely - doctors warned the family that any fall or blow could cause further damage to his retinas. He often asks his mother: "Why don't the other children wear glasses like me? Why can't I move like them? Why can't I go to school like them?"

At the end of April, while walking along a road strewn with rubble, he fell and struck his face on the ground, breaking the glasses. "He burst into tears, rolled on the ground and desperately tried to piece them back together," his mother said. For three or four days without glasses, he rarely left a corner of the tent, unable to move 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.

Relatives tried repeatedly to repair the glasses, but the damaged lenses could not be fixed. After the video spread, donors helped the family obtain a new pair, but it is still not the correct prescription he needs. His emotional state has shown modest signs of improvement.

The broader picture is less heartwarming. Health officials in Gaza say the war has devastated eye care services, leaving thousands without treatment amid severe shortages of medical equipment and surgical supplies. Hospitals lack key items including surgical microscopes and phaco machines. More than 2,800 patients are currently waiting for cataract surgery alone, while the total backlog for eye procedures exceeds 4,000 cases. Israeli bombardment has forced the temporary shutdown of Gaza City's Government Eye Hospital, the only public eye care centre in the territory.

"The current situation clearly shows a shortage in all medical consumables and surgical tools," said Dr. Hussam Dawoud, director of the hospital. "Currently, 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." Doctors have also reported a sharp rise in severe corneal infections due to overcrowded living conditions, poor sanitation and limited access to medication.

This is part of a broader humanitarian crisis affecting Gaza's children. There are more child amputees per inhabitant in the territory than anywhere else in the world. According to health officials, an estimated 4,000 children are in urgent need of medical evacuation. "A child who breaks their glasses may remain effectively blind for a long time because replacement glasses are impossible to find," said Dr. Irdi Memaj, a surgeon working with the humanitarian organisation Emergency. "Around 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, with numerous reports of children being bitten by rodents while they sleep."

The Israeli Defense Ministry's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories rejected accusations over restrictions on Gaza, stating: "Israel 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."