Unprecedented Infant Health Crisis in Gaza: UN Official Reveals Devastation Caused by Israeli Conflict
Watan-A UN official revealed a new facet of the tragedies experienced by Palestinians in Gaza due to the brutal Israeli war on the territory.
The Palestinian Territories official at the United Nations Population Fund, Dominique Allem, stated that doctors no longer see births of normal size in Gaza.
He added in a press conference that 180 women give birth daily in the devastated sector, while they suffer from hunger and drought.
He continued: “Personally, I left Gaza this week, and I feared for a million women and girls in Gaza, out of 650,000 of childbearing age, especially for the 180 women giving birth every day.”
Allem managed to visit hospitals still providing services for maternal care in the northern Gaza Strip.
The UN official stated: “Doctors recount that they no longer see births of normal size (…) On the contrary, tragically, they see a larger number of births who pass away shortly after being born.”
“ما نراه الآن هو كارثة مطلقة. نرى الجوع واليأس والخوف في عيون الناس” ممثل صندوق الأمم المتحدة للسكان في فلسطين دومينيك ألين خلال مهمة شديدة الخطورة إلى مستشفى الولادة الوحيد العامل في مدينة #غزة.
ولا يمكن للعالم أن يغض الطرف! #وقف_إطلاق_النار الآن pic.twitter.com/Kne66ytPEE
— UNFPA Arabic (@UNFPA_Arabic) March 13, 2024
He pointed out that pregnant women are burdened with fear and constant mobility from place to place, in addition to hunger and drought.
He also noted the lack of anesthesia needed by pregnant women undergoing cesarean sections, condemning the Israeli authorities’ refusal to allow the passage of aid shipments from the United Nations Population Fund.
He affirmed that what he witnessed while traveling to the northern Gaza Strip “broke his heart,” saying, “All those we saw or spoke to were frail and hungry, and they all engaged in this movement seeking food.”
The horrors faced by pregnant women in Gaza
As the Israeli war on Gaza continues and the suffering of the population expands, pregnant women, in particular, suffer with the ongoing Israeli onslaught.
Pregnant women face high risks of malnutrition, dehydration, in addition to the risks associated with living under the onslaught of bombs and war.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza previously estimated that there are more than 60,000 pregnant women severely suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and the absence of adequate minimum healthcare.
It confirmed that an average of five thousand pregnant women give birth monthly under conditions described as “extremely difficult and unhealthy” due to continuous Israeli bombardment and ongoing displacement from one place to another.
