Doctors in Gaza are reporting unprecedented numbers of miscarriages, premature births, and babies born with severe congenital abnormalities amid the ongoing Israeli bombing and siege. This health crisis reflects the devastating impact of military occupation on Palestinian lives.
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, reaching Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
“I was hit by severe cramps that felt like labour pains,” Majdalawi recounted. “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, then delivered the crushing news: “The foetus is still in your womb, but there is no heartbeat.” Majdalawi described the moment, saying, “It felt as though my own heart stopped beating. I realised I had lost the dream I had waited years to fulfil.”
The Siege's Human Cost
Majdalawi attributes her miscarriage directly to the war. “Deep down, I know the war caused this,” she stated, detailing her experiences of displacement countless times, complete exhaustion, and five injuries from separate Israeli airstrikes. She endured famine in northern Gaza, which led to significant weight loss and a deterioration of her health. “On top of that came the psychological torment of losing our home when our neighbourhood was bombed,” she added.
Her home in Jabalia was destroyed, forcing Majdalawi and her husband to live in a tent in Nuseirat refugee camp. Returning to Jabalia is impossible, she explained, because it lies near the Israeli military's “Yellow Line,” a designated zone that restricts Palestinian access. Life in the tent offers little respite. “My husband did everything he could to make life in the tent easier so my pregnancy would go smoothly. But there is only so much anyone can do,” she said.
She described 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,” Majdalawi shared. The constant presence of Israeli military operations exacerbates the psychological distress. “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.”
Despite a ceasefire declared in October, intermittent Israeli bombing and expulsion orders continue. Nearly two million displaced Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to cope with life inside tents. Majdalawi’s husband lost his job because of the war, leaving them dependent on charity kitchens for free meals. “Buying fruit, vegetables or fresh meat regularly is impossible without money,” she noted. The World Bank reports unemployment exceeding 80 percent and poverty nearing 100 percent, meaning most families rely almost entirely on food aid, largely consisting of rice, beans, lentils, pasta, and canned meat.
Environmental and Health Catastrophe
Dr. Adnan Radi, head of the Palestinian health ministry's advisory committee and a senior consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology, described the figure of 3,958 miscarriages recorded during the first six months of 2026 as “shocking.” He warned that official statistics 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. Dr. Radi indicated that the miscarriage rate could be as high as 70 percent of total births in certain areas, calling it a tragedy.
“Anaemia plays a critical role,” Radi explained. 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 approximately 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.
Dr. 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. He stated that while comprehensive studies are lacking, there is a clear link between environmental toxicity, malnutrition, anaemia, and the rise in miscarriages and premature births. He added that toxic residues from bombardment could have lasting effects on future generations by altering the genetic landscape.
A Future Under Threat
“We have seen a sharp increase in premature births before 26 weeks of pregnancy,” Dr. Radi observed. He also noted a drastic increase in severe foetal abnormalities in recent months. “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 2026, 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's personal anguish encapsulates the collective fear. “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,” she lamented.