Two new reports have revealed a catastrophic 41% decline in births within Gaza, directly attributed to the ongoing conflict, alongside soaring rates of maternal and newborn deaths, miscarriages, and premature deliveries. The findings allege a systematic dismantling of reproductive healthcare that meets the legal criteria for genocide.
Collapse of Maternal Healthcare
The studies, published by Physicians for Human Rights in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI), document the war's devastating impact on pregnant women and infants. They present stark figures compiled between January and June 2025, including an estimated 2,600 miscarriages, 220 pregnancy-related deaths, 1,460 premature births, over 1,700 underweight newborns, and more than 2,500 infants needing intensive neonatal care.
Lama Bakri, a psychologist and project manager at PHRI, stated these numbers reflect "a shocking deterioration from prewar 'normalcy'" caused directly by "war trauma, starvation, displacement and the collapse of maternal healthcare."
Systematic Dismantling of Health Services
Gaza's entire health infrastructure has been systematically taken apart since October 2023. Israeli military operations have repeatedly targeted hospitals, ambulances, and medical personnel. A crippling siege and sustained bombardment have severed supply lines and restricted movement between facilities, accelerating a public health catastrophe.
While Israel asserts that Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, these claims lack clear supporting evidence. The consequence is that mothers face impossible choices, routinely sacrificing their own health and survival to meet their children's basic needs in overcrowded displacement camps.
UN Women estimates more than 6,000 mothers were killed in the first six months of the war alone, averaging two every hour. The UN's OCHA reports roughly 150,000 pregnant women and nursing mothers have been forcibly displaced.
Allegations of Deliberate Reproductive Violence
The reports go beyond documenting casualties, suggesting an alleged intent to erode the Palestinian people demographically by attacking their ability to reproduce. A key case examined is Israel's December 2023 strike on the al-Basma IVF clinic, Gaza's largest fertility centre. The attack destroyed an estimated 5,000 reproductive specimens and halted 70 to 100 IVF procedures monthly.
An independent international commission of inquiry concluded the strike was deliberate, directly targeting Palestinian reproductive potential. The UN has cited the impact on reproductive health as part of its reasoning for declaring Israel's actions a genocide.
"Reproductive violence constitutes a violation under international law; when carried out systematically and with the intent to destroy, it falls within the definition of genocide," the report states.
Voices from the Crisis
The data is punctuated by harrowing personal testimonies. Masara Khamis al-Sakahfi, 32, from Rafah, described her pregnancy terror: "Contractions would start and then suddenly stop due to fear of the airstrikes. I would freeze and the contractions would stop."
Sarah al-Daour, a 26-year-old mother with a heart condition, endured multiple traumatic relocations under fire after giving birth. Her caregiver, nurse Aya Naif al-Mashrafi, was later killed alongside her children and 35 other family members.
Israeli Response and Ongoing Suffering
The Israeli military did not comment before publication. Afterwards, the IDF condemned the allegations, stating they "do not reflect the reality on the ground." The IDF claimed it facilitates humanitarian and medical aid and is committed to mitigating civilian harm, while casting doubt on the report's figures.
Despite a ceasefire in October, life in Gaza remains perilous. Airstrikes have slowed but not ceased, and recent severe winter storms have compounded the crisis. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder reported over 100 children killed since the ceasefire, including six from hypothermia this winter alone. On a single day in late winter, storm-collapsed tent walls killed at least four displaced people, and a one-year-old boy died of hypothermia.
The reports conclude that the destruction of maternal care in Gaza reflects the deliberate infliction of conditions calculated to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, with consequences that will alter families for generations.
