A heartbreaking video of a six-year-old boy sobbing over his broken glasses has touched millions after revealing the daily struggle he faces living with a severe visual impairment and a neurological condition in Gaza.

Little Ayoub Junaid was filmed crying and pleading for someone to repair his damaged prescription glasses after they were broken in an accident. For most children, a pair of glasses might be a simple accessory. For Ayoub, they are his connection to the world.

The youngster, who is currently living with his displaced family in the port area of Gaza City, can barely see without them.

His mother, Eman Junaid, 30, said Ayoub’s vision problems began when he was just two years old after suffering a high fever.

“At first, doctors told us his eyesight might improve as he grew older,” she explained. “Instead, it became worse year after year.”

As his condition progressed, the strength of the lenses he required increased significantly. However, the specialized lenses he now needs are extremely difficult to obtain.

Because of his condition, Ayoub rarely leaves the family tent.

While other children run, jump and play freely, Ayoub moves cautiously, always protecting the glasses that help him navigate the world around him. Doctors have warned his family to be especially careful, as a fall or impact could seriously affect his vision.

The young boy often struggles to understand why his childhood looks so different from everyone else’s.

“He always asks me, ‘Why don’t other children wear glasses like me? Why can’t I run like them? Why can’t I go to school like them?’” his mother said.

At the end of April, while walking along a road scattered with rubble, Ayoub tripped and fell forward, hitting his face on the ground. His glasses shattered.

According to his mother, he immediately burst into tears and desperately tried to put the pieces back together himself.

“For Ayoub, those glasses were everything,” she said. “Even with them, he struggled to see clearly. Without them, he could barely move at all.”

For several days, the little boy remained mostly in one corner of the tent.

Unable to see properly, he needed help moving around. When he tried walking on his own, he would bend down close to the ground, bringing his eyes within inches of the floor in an attempt to recognize what was in front of him.

The emotional video eventually spread across social media, prompting an outpouring of support from people around the world.

Soon afterward, Ayoub received a new pair of prescription glasses. But his mother says the new glasses are only a temporary solution.

“He still needs surgery,” she explained. “We are grateful for the glasses, but his journey is far from over.”

Medical professionals in Gaza have also highlighted the growing challenges faced by patients requiring specialized treatment, with shortages affecting access to equipment, supplies and surgical care.

What makes Ayoub’s story even more heartbreaking is that he was born a perfectly healthy baby, weighing more than four kilograms at birth. His family never imagined that only a few years later he would be facing such enormous challenges.