Doctors in Gaza are reporting unprecedented numbers of miscarriages, premature births and babies born with severe congenital abnormalities amid Israeli bombing and siege conditions now in their third year. The Palestinian Ministry of Health recorded 3,958 miscarriages during the first six months of 2026 alone — a figure senior health officials described as "shocking" and likely an undercount of the true scale.
Sahar al-Majdalawi, a 34-year-old displaced Palestinian woman, lost her pregnancy after seven years of trying to conceive. A month after learning she was pregnant, she began suffering agonising abdominal pain. With roads in Gaza destroyed and transport brought to a standstill by Israeli bombing, she walked for hours to the nearest hospital with her husband and reached Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
"I was hit by severe cramps that felt like labour pains," Majdalawi said. "We had to walk so far because there was no transport despite my pain. The whole time, I was begging God to keep my baby safe." Doctors performed an ultrasound and then told her, "The foetus is still in your womb, but there is no heartbeat." She said, "At that moment, it felt as though my own heart stopped beating. I realised I had lost the dream I had waited years to fulfil."
Displacement, Malnutrition and Trauma
Majdalawi attributes her miscarriage directly to the conditions of war. "Deep down, I know the war caused this," she said. "I was displaced countless times, my body was completely exhausted, and I suffered five injuries in separate air strikes. I endured famine in northern Gaza, lost weight, and my health deteriorated. On top of that came the psychological torment of losing our home when our neighbourhood was bombed."
Majdalawi and her husband now live in a tent in Nuseirat refugee camp after their home in Jabalia was destroyed. She said returning to the area is impossible because it lies near the Israeli military's "Yellow Line." Nearly two million displaced Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to cope with life inside tents, according to Middle East Eye. Although a ceasefire was declared in October, intermittent Israeli bombing and expulsion orders continue.
"My husband did everything he could to make life in the tent easier so my pregnancy would go smoothly," Majdalawi said. "But there is only so much anyone can do. Imagine sleeping on a paper-thin mattress on uneven ground inside a flimsy tent baking in the summer heat. Sometimes I feel my heart will stop because of how hot it gets. My back aches constantly. Not a day passes without the thunder of bombardment or the buzz of the quadcopter drones overhead. Sometimes they even open fire. It keeps me in a constant state of psychological distress."
The Medical Picture
Dr Adnan Radi, head of the Palestinian health ministry's advisory committee and a senior consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, described the Ministry of Health data as evidence of a public health catastrophe. "Official statistics, whether from international organisations or the Ministry of Health, undercount the true scale, but there is an undeniable and sharp surge in miscarriages during the war years," Radi said. "Although an exact number is hard to pin down, there is a consensus that miscarriage rates have multiplied. The Ministry of Health indicated the rate could be as high as 70 percent of total births in certain areas, which is a tragedy."
Radi pointed to multiple intersecting causes. "Anaemia plays a critical role. Around 70 percent of pregnant women in Gaza are suffering from severe anaemia, compounded by widespread malnutrition." The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned last week that around 67 percent of Gaza's population — an estimated 1.4 million people — faces critical or worse levels of acute food insecurity through December. It estimated that nearly 25,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women will require urgent nutritional support over the coming year.
Majdalawi's family is among those relying entirely on aid. "My husband lost his job because of the war, so we depend on charity kitchens for free meals," she said. "Buying fruit, vegetables or fresh meat regularly is impossible without money." Unemployment exceeds 80 percent and poverty is nearing 100 percent, according to the World Bank. Most families rely almost entirely on food aid, largely consisting of rice, beans, lentils, pasta and canned meat.
Toxic Exposure and Birth Defects
Radi also pointed to infectious diseases, contaminated water, poor sanitation and exposure to toxic dust generated by thousands of tonnes of explosives dropped by the Israeli military. "Although comprehensive studies are lacking, there is a clear link between environmental toxicity, malnutrition, anaemia and the rise in miscarriages and premature births," he said. He added that toxic residues from bombardment could have lasting effects on future generations by altering the genetic landscape.
"We have seen a sharp increase in premature births before 26 weeks of pregnancy," Radi said. "In recent months, we have observed a drastic increase in severe foetal abnormalities. In previous years, seeing a baby born without limbs or feet was an extremely rare occurrence. Now, it has become a recurring phenomenon in delivery wards."
Hospitals face a critical shortage of neonatal intensive care beds, leaving premature babies with a far lower chance of survival. In February, Unicef reported that nearly one in five newborns in Gaza required intensive care or thermal incubation due to maternal malnutrition, chronic stress and a lack of prenatal care.
Majdalawi said, "I don't know when the day will come when I can hold my baby in my arms without the terrifying fear of losing them or seeing them born with deformities."
Why This Matters:
The surge in miscarriages and birth defects in Gaza isn't an abstraction — it's the measurable human cost of prolonged siege and bombardment on the most vulnerable. When 70 percent of pregnant women suffer severe anaemia, when 1.4 million people face critical food insecurity, when hospitals can't provide neonatal care, the consequences play out in delivery wards and displacement camps. The Ministry of Health's estimate that miscarriage rates could reach 70 percent in certain areas represents a public health catastrophe with generational implications. Toxic residues from explosives, malnutrition during pregnancy, and the collapse of prenatal care don't just affect one generation — they alter the health trajectory of an entire population. The international community's failure to ensure humanitarian access and enforce ceasefire terms has left women like Sahar al-Majdalawi walking hours in labour pain to hospitals that can't save their pregnancies. This is what occupation and siege look like in the most intimate human terms.