The UN Population Fund warned that severe malnutrition among pregnant women and infants in Gaza will have long-term effects on future generations, as Israel’s war devastates the health system and causes extreme food and medicine shortages.
Around 70% of newborns are now underweight or premature, compared to 20% before the war, while neonatal units operate at 170% of capacity.
The Fund said malnutrition is the main threat amid the collapse of 94% of hospitals, with only 15% of facilities providing emergency maternity care.
It also noted rising maternal deaths, high-risk pregnancies, and increasing gender-based violence, including early marriage, stressing that over a quarter of Gaza’s population faces hunger, among them about 11,500 pregnant women.
