‘The baby could die’: What pregnant Gazans face giving birth in a conflict zone
Global News
As bombs continue to drop over Gaza, thousands of women may be preparing to give birth in a conflict zone, lacking water, food and access to life-saving medicine.
As bombs continue to drop over Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, thousands of women are facing the prospect of having to give birth in a conflict zone, lacking water, food and access to life-saving medicine, according to medical experts.
Gaza is home to 50,000 pregnant women. Of these, 5,500 are expected to give birth in the coming month. That means around 160 women will give birth every day, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said in a statement on Monday.
Similar statistics were not available for pregnant people in Israel.
“We know that those women can’t get access to basic maternal health services. They’re facing this double nightmare,” said Dominic Allen, the UNFPA representative for the State of Palestine.
“The health-care system is under attack on the brink of collapse and these pregnant women who continue to give birth every single day are really facing unthinkable challenges.”
Amid the conflict, Allen said the UNFPA is calling for immediate, unobstructed humanitarian access to food, medicines, fuel and water in Gaza, so pregnant women and newborns can receive these essential supplies.
“Pregnant women are not a target and they’re protected under international law,” Allen told Global News. “Humanitarian aid has got to be able to get through… The UN system is ready to respond, it’s got trucks lined up at that border, ready to cross, (but) we can’t get it in. Gazans are running out of time.”
Israel imposed a “complete siege” on Gaza after Hamas militants fired rockets at Israeli towns on Oct. 7, before breaking through the heavily-fortified border fence, killing over 1,400 people, including civilians and soldiers, and taking roughly 199 others hostage.
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