Gaza Genocide27 June, 20262 min read
Israel Conditions Gaza Children’s Return On Abandoning Cochlear Accessories At King Hussein Bridge
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Gaza children received cochlear implants in Jordan and regained hearing before attempting return. Israel conditions Gaza children's return on abandoning hearing devices at King Hussein Bridge.
Cochlear devices blocked
Palestinian families from the Gaza Strip who underwent cochlear implant surgeries in Jordan remained in Jordan after their return via the King Hussein Bridge stalled due to Israeli conditions, with the families saying Israeli occupation authorities refused to allow essential accessories for hearing devices. The families faced a choice at the crossing point: abandon the cochlear accessories or return to Jordan, and the Palestinian Information Center said 11 families chose to retreat while only five families managed to cross on the condition of surrendering mobile phones and personal belongings including medicines and food.
Al Jazeera Net described the same stalling at the King Hussein Bridge, saying the mothers were told they would have to choose between leaving the accessories behind or returning to Jordan because the accessories were required for the cochlear devices to operate. The Palestinian Information Center added that in Gaza, patients with hearing loss face a severe shortage of devices and spare parts, threatening the children’s acquired hearing if the devices fail.
Hostages, health, and trauma
As a truce in Gaza began in the late morning, Sud Ouest said three Israeli women held as hostages in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023 were to be released this Sunday afternoon in exchange for 95 Palestinians detained by Israel. Sud Ouest quoted Amir Blumenfeld, former head of the Israeli army's Combat Medicine Department, warning that after more than 470 days of detention “it will be horrible,” and he estimated he lost 11 kilos in captivity and suffered abuses including being burned.
The same article said Drastic weight loss would be the main physical issue to address, with the “half or a third” estimate for pre-abduction weight, while it warned that “The most difficult problem will be mental health.” It also described Ilana Gritzewsky’s account that a video of a fellow captive still held “plunged her back into the period of captivity,” and it said the Israeli Ministry of Health guidelines call for hospitalization for at least four days for hostages to be released.
UN warns of hearing loss
On June 27, 2026, WAFA Agency reported that the United Nations revealed tens of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip have suffered hearing impairments as a result of repeated explosions caused by Israeli occupation airstrikes in the enclave since October 2023. WAFA said the UN report was issued on the occasion of the International Day of Deafblindness and stated that many persons with disabilities in Gaza have lost assistive devices including wheelchairs and hearing aids.
The UN, as quoted by WAFA, said the war on Gaza deepened vulnerability for people with disabilities, noting that some are unable to hear evacuation orders, cannot see their way, or are unable to move without assistance, placing them at double risk as danger zones and displacement areas change. WAFA also reported that most residents of the Gaza Strip continue to face insecurity and repeated, prolonged displacement with limited access to basic services, and it said overcrowded displacement sites, damaged buildings, and temporary shelters lack adequate water, sanitation, and protection services.