The Israeli genocide in Gaza targets foetuses, newborns and pregnant women

The ongoing Israeli genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, which has lasted for over 560 days, has killed over 50,000 people, including more than 16,000 children. This includes nearly 200 infants who were born and martyred during the war.

A UN investigation concluded that the occupying forces committed acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip through the systematic destruction of reproductive healthcare facilities. They deliberately attacked and destroyed the main fertility centre in the Strip and prevented the aid and medicine necessary to ensure safe pregnancy, childbirth, and neonatal care. This means that the ongoing war on Gaza has partially destroyed the reproductive capacity of Palestinians through the systematic destruction of the reproductive health sector.

In addition to this, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced that more than 4,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza have been diagnosed with severe malnutrition. This number is likely to increase, especially after crossings have been closed since the beginning of Ramadan, causing a major shortage in the food rations received by pregnant or breastfeeding women. This has resulted in malnutrition among infants and contributed to the deterioration of their health, including premature and newborn babies.

300% spike in miscarriages: no safe pregnancies in Gaza

A new phenomenon has emerged in Gaza hospitals, which is “dwarf babies”, meaning they are shorter than average due to malnutrition. This is in addition to increased early miscarriages and premature labour, whether due to malnutrition, pregnant women inhaling toxic gases, or the starvation policy they face at the hands of the occupation

The genocide in Gaza has also witnessed a rise in congenital malformations in newborns, including those affecting the heart, feet, brain, reproductive organs and lower extremities. These malformations are discovered by doctors after birth, increasing the number of those suffering from birth defects. Their statistics recorded hundreds of newborns with congenital deformities and disorders, at least 20 per cent of whom died. This increase is due to several factors, most notably the explosive materials dropped by aircraft and tanks on Gaza, which carry toxic, radioactive and phosphorous materials, resulting in an increase in the rate of birth defects in newborns admitted to NICU incubators, the spread of many infectious viruses, a lack of hygiene, and malnutrition among mothers, in addition to 3,5000 children at risk of dying of malnutrition.

Some reasons for this are the repeated displacement of nearly 500,000 children under the age of ten, who are in need of vaccinations, and the death of many newborns immediately after birth due to their abnormal size. Meanwhile, mothers are burdened by exhaustion, fear, hunger and dehydration, and instead of giving birth to their children peacefully, they are instead giving birth to them while moving from one displacement location to another. The estimated growth rate in Gaza has dropped from 2.7 per cent to just one per cent, and the birth and fertility rates have dropped dramatically as a result of couples refraining from having children due to the prevailing conditions and fears for the health of the mothers and children. The number of new marriages during the aggression has also dropped to extremely low levels.

The Gaza war has exposed the extreme suffering of pregnant women and newborns. There are currently 50,000 pregnant women, amid a severe shortage of the medications they need, in addition to malnutrition and a lack of medical follow-ups, which has negative effects on the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies. They are now at risk due to the collapse of the health system amidst the raging war. The repeated displacement has also led to some miscarriages, with their suffering beginning in the prenatal and continuing to the postnatal stages. They face death because they are forced to frequently move from one place to another, and also suffer from a lack of food, vitamins and other major issues. In addition to this, natural childbirth takes longer than usual.

Pregnant women experience pain during caesarean sections and after birth, the baby does not receive breast milk due to the lack of food. This forces mothers to begin the process of providing baby formula, as newborns do not receive the essential vitamins and minerals for growth. As for mothers, they face health problems after giving birth. The UN Population Fund revealed that Gaza doctors no longer see newborns that are normal in size, because their mothers suffer from hunger and dehydration on a daily basis. We are facing the nightmare of the largest humanitarian crisis, as newborns arrive at hospitals in very critical conditions, showing signs of weakness and paleness due to the mothers’ malnutrition.

Coinciding with this deliberate Israeli policy of targeting pregnant women, newborns and foetuses in their mothers’ wombs, the ongoing war has witnessed a new phenomenon: the targeting of mothers who had been impregnated through artificial insemination. Their complex treatment process has been interrupted following the halting of the flow of medical supplies and the bombing that destroyed thousands of frozen foetuses. In fact, on the first day of the war alone, approximately 50 Gazan mothers were in the middle of hormone injections, preparing to remove the foetus at Al-Basma Fertility and IVF Centre, while others were only days away from receiving their embryos.

Israeli air strikes also killed 4,000 frozen foetuses in various obstetrics and gynaecology clinics across Gaza. Half of these belonged to couples who were unable to undergo additional treatment, making their condition extremely dangerous or requiring follow-up care, especially as the pregnancies of many of these women would be difficult, even though thousands of them receive prenatal care. Those who give birth remain without medical care, meaning maternal and neonatal mortality rates have soared, with Gaza suffering a 300 per cent increase in miscarriages.

These figures reveal the frightening fates that await pregnant women in Gaza, ranging from death to miscarriage and premature birth. The ongoing genocide has increased the threat to their lives and the lives of their newborns. Data indicates that the number of births in Gaza has reached 180 per day, with some even forced to give their newborns only water due to their malnutrition and the lack of formula in pharmacies and hospitals. There are hundreds of mothers who experience great difficulties in breastfeeding their children, and therefore, it is not surprising that the rate of miscarriage, dangerous premature births and caesarean sections has increased, and newborns are at risk of dying due to undernourishment.

Meanwhile, in 2023, before the outbreak of the war on Gaza, the fertility rate among women in Gaza reached 3.38 children per woman, which explains the huge number of births in the Strip during the war. However, this fertility rate may be affected in the coming years. All of this confirms that future Palestinian generations are  in real danger due to the genocidal war, and that there is great fear for women. This will result in a negative change in the image of Palestinian society in Gaza in several aspects. This will be seen in the imbalance in the number of women, whose numbers have dropped as a result of their targeting by Israel, a reduction in birth rates and subsequently the effects such factors will have on Gaza’s labour force.

READ: Israel vows to continue blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.