Deaf world news

Independent Appeal: Trampled because he could not hear

For the deaf children of Gaza, disability has a new and perilous dimension amid the fighting. Jan McGirk reports from Jabalia on the work of the Welfare Association, which provides specialised care

Jihad Kafarneh finally cracked a smile yesterday. It was only the second time in three weeks, since the siege of Gaza was at its height. The 14-year-old Palestinian, who was born deaf in Beit Hanoun town, was a silent witness to the Israeli army's pre-dawn attack on a neighbour's four-storey house last month. Blood puddled an inch deep in the lane where 17 members of the al-Athamna family lay dying, blasted apart by tank shells.
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