Israeli violations against civilians in the Gaza Strip have reached unprecedented and harrowing levels, affecting the most vulnerable groups, particularly pregnant women and newborns. Women have been subjected to different forms of violations, including the devastating policy of starvation and thirst, amid no protection afforded to them from the indiscriminate military attacks and the unbearable deterioration of healthcare services. These brutal policies have led to deaths among newborns, fetal deaths, premature births, and cases of stillbirth. These systematic acts prevent births in the Gaza Strip and amount to an act of genocide, aimed at eliminating a whole generation and erasing the future of the entire Palestinian people. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has recorded 17,000 deliveries in the first half of the year in the Gaza Strip, including 2600 miscarriages, fetal deaths during pregnancy or after birth, 21 newborn deaths on the first day of life, 67 cases of congenital deformities (0.39% of total births), 2,535 newborns admitted to the neonatal incubators due to health problems(14.91% of total births), 1600 infants born underweight (9.4%), 1,460 premature deliveries (around 8.59%.)¹

Shomoukh Kars’ou’a (20), who bore the devastating cost of the siege, starvation and no healthcare by losing her child, shared with PCHR her story:

“On 02 July 2025, I gave birth to my baby “Mo’in”, and the delivery was normal, but it occurred prematurely—he was only in his 27th week. He weighed only one kilogram and was extremely thin and weak. His lungs, liver, and kidneys were not yet fully developed. I suffered throughout my pregnancy from severe malnutrition. We had nothing to eat except two meals of lentil soup a day from a field kitchen. I was receiving hormone injections to stabilize the pregnancy as I needed them, but they were very expensive with each injection costing 35 US dollars. I could not afford their price and stopped taking them. All of this weakened my body especially with the psychological pressure I endured due to constant fear, recurrent displacement and the tragic conditions of war. After birth, my child Mo’in was admitted to the incubator at al-Sahabah Hospital, but he could not hold on and died after 48 hours.”²

These harrowing figures are due to a series of devastating factors, foremostly IOF’s ongoing, intense and indiscriminate attacks on the Gaza Strip by using tons of explosives and white phosphorus without any protection granted to pregnant women or the possibility of evacuating them to safer areas. Under this relentless bombardment, access to healthcare has become rare and dangerous amid almost full collapse of the healthcare system, which has reached critical phase due to targeted attacks on healthcare facilities, the ongoing siege and banning the entry of emergency medical supplies.  Meanwhile, the few remaining functional hospitals are severely overcrowded, suffering from chronic fuel shortages, which in turn cause power outages, disable oxygen generation plants, render neonatal incubators inoperable, and severe shortage of diagnostic equipment. Moreover, infectious diseases spread amid depletion of medicine warehouses and medical supplies. This situation has pushed Gaza’s healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, in a scene that signals a dangerous slide into a point of no return.³

M. Q. says with a broken heart after losing her baby girl amid unbearable conditions:

“On 01 July 2025, I lost my first baby after a premature delivery in the 35^th week of my pregnancy while I was right months pregnant. The baby was born with congenital deformities and underdeveloped organs. Her baby was too weak and even her skull was not fully formed.  The doctors told me that it was due to severe malnutrition I endured throughout my pregnancy as well as constant exposure to smoke and white phosphorus from the missiles fired by IOF. My pregnancy was extremely difficult. I endured repeated kidney colic and other complications, yet I had no access to proper medical care. Throughout my pregnancy, I only ate pasta and lentils amid lack of flour, which if found would be unbearably expensive. While I was six months pregnant and after doing a fetal ultrasound, I was told that my baby suffered congenital deformities. In the 8^th month, my condition suddenly deteriorated, and I had to undergo an emergency premature delivery. My baby girl, Khadijah, died during childbirth.”⁴

In the meantime, the Gaza Strip is experiencing unprecedented stage of Israel’s deliberate starvation policy as hunger is threatening the lives of the entire population, particularly women and children, amid the complete closure of crossings since 02 March 2025. With the near-total destruction of Gaza’s local food production capacity, people are forced to risk their lives to obtain mere scraps to stave off their hunger. Many have been deliberately targeted and killed while trying to secure food.⁵

For his part, Dr. Naji al-Qurshali, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist, stated:

“From March 2025 and until now, we have observed a dramatic surge in cases of miscarriage, premature birth, and stillbirth. I see four to five such cases almost every day, and the situation is completely abnormal and deeply alarming. The ongoing famine is undoubtedly the main factor behind this, as anemia and severe malnutrition have become widespread among pregnant women, leading to serious complications that endanger both their lives and the lives of their fetuses⁶. According to Dr. Na’eem Ayoub, Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist and Director of al-Sahaba Medical Complex, “The severe starvation policy imposed on the Gaza Strip has a severe impact on the health of pregnant women and their fetuses. Even when a mother manages to complete a normal pregnancy, she often gives birth to a baby who is underweight, has delayed or abnormal organ development, and some babies may be born with congenital malformations that prevent them from surviving outside the womb. Due to their weak physical build and compromised immunity, these children are more vulnerable to recurrent illnesses and infections. They may also experience developmental challenges or suffer from chronic conditions that persist throughout their lives.⁷” Dr. Ayoub added: “Today, we observe cases of pregnant women who have lost more than 10 kilograms during pregnancy. This weight loss has a direct impact on the mother’s physical and mental health, as well as negatively affecting her fetus.Many mothers suffer from impaired heart, nervous system and respiratory function due to nutritional and vitamin deficiencies. We see these cases daily in the field. The proportions are alarming, the situation is worsening, and every day we confront the deadly consequences of famine on the bodies of women and their children, who barely have a chance to survive.”

Falastin (36), who lost two fetuses during the ongoing genocidal war, stated:

“In the midst of this unjust war, I suffered a miscarriage in May 2024. The IOF had besieged al-Zaytoun neighborhood, where I lived and there was not enough food. We survived on ‘dukkah’, a traditional Middle Eastern blend of spices and nuts, with no bread or anything else to eat. This severe nutritional deficiency directly impacted my pregnancy, and I miscarried in my sixth month. The miscarriage occurred at home and was accompanied by severe bleeding that nearly cost me my life. We could not even give a name to the child we lost. Unfortunately, my suffering did not end there; I also lost my second baby due to the harsh conditions we were living under and the repeated famine imposed by the IOF.”

“I stand in line for hours just to get a small amount of lentils from field kitchens, and sometimes, these kitchens don’t even provide us with that limited food. On some days, we would eat nothing but a pinch of salt and drink large amounts of water to ease our intense hunger. Then came the birth of my baby on 7 July 2025.  He was born in the 25^th week of pregnancy, during one of the most difficult periods I have ever endured, filled with displacement, food scarcity, exhaustion, fatigue, and long waits for our meals from field kitchens. Yousef was born weighing just 700 grams, and my hemoglobin level was only 8.5. It was a premature birth and the baby was underdeveloped. He was put on a ventilator and given IV fluids for two days, but unfortunately, I lost my child after just 48 hours. My heart is heavy with grief as I lose my children one by one. I now live in constant fear for the lives of my remaining children, who are enduring severe hunger.”⁸

PCHR reiterates its warning about the systematic Israeli policies aimed at preventing births in the Gaza Strip, which constitute acts of genocide intended to erase the existence of the Palestinian people. PCHR affirms that the Israeli occupation authorities have adopted starvation policy as a tool to achieve the complete or partial destruction of the Palestinian people by: (a) inflicting serious physical or mental harm on Palestinians, and (b) deliberately  inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction, in whole or in part”, which constitute a crime of genocide under international law.

PCHR calls on the international community to take immediate action to pressure Israel to stop the crime of genocide being committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in all its forms. PCHR also stresses the importance of member states of the Rome Statute fully complying with the execution of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, for their involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the systematic use of starvation as a weapon against civilians in the Gaza Strip. PCHR also emphasizes the importance of the continued work of the ICC Prosecutor in prosecuting Israeli perpetrators of international crimes, including political and military leaders.

1. An interview PCHR conducted with Zaher al-Wheidi, Director of the Health Information Unit at the Ministry of Health in Gaza on 15 July 2025. ↩︎
2. PCHR received this testimony on 15 July 2025 in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. ↩︎
3. Media Government Office, Press Release for the MOH, 25 July 2025:Link ↩︎
4. PCHR received this testimony on 15 July 2025 in Sidra neighborhood in Gaza City. ↩︎
5. See PCHR, Israeli Attack on Flour Distribution Point in Deir al-Balah Kills 18 Civilians in a Grave Crime Confirming Deliberate Starvation and Chaos, 26 July 2025. And see also: In Persistence of Starvation and Genocide, Israel Kills Children and Women in Deir al-Balah While Searching for Food, 10 July 2025, ↩︎
6. A phone interview conducted by PCHR’s staff with Dr. Naji al-Qurshali, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynecology, on 16 July 2025.” ↩︎
7. A phone interview conducted by PCHR’s staff with Dr. Na’eem Ayoub, Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist and Director of al-Sahaba Medical Complex, on 12 July 2025. ↩︎
8. A testimony obtained by PCHR’s staff on 16 July 2025 in al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City. ↩︎