Shahad Ali & Sojoud Alkhour
Truthout / July 16, 2026
Mothers in Gaza are losing their newborns as hospitals struggle to function without adequate supplies and resources.
Birth and motherhood in Gaza, which were once filled with joy, love, and anticipation, have been transformed into an ordeal marked by suffering and distress since the start of the latest Israeli war on Gaza in October 2023.
The widespread destruction of hospitals across the Gaza Strip and severe shortages of medical supplies due to Israel’s relentless siege have stripped away the basic conditions required for safe childbirth, placing thousands of expectant mothers and their newborns at risk, particularly those undergoing caesarean sections.
According to the latest report published by Al-Haq, an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists (Geneva) based in Ramallah, Israeli authorities have denied and restricted the entry of many medical items, including anaesthesia, antibiotics, blood supplies, and sterile surgical equipment, under “dual-use” classifications or unclear bureaucratic procedures. As a result, women are often forced to undergo surgery without adequate pain relief, face life-threatening haemorrhages without access to blood transfusions, or are denied caesarean sections altogether.
Dr. Ahmed al-Afara, director of the Children’s Hospital at Nasser Medical Complex, told Al-Jazeera that pregnant women in Gaza are facing multiple serious complications as a result of the lack of medical follow-up, essential vitamins, and adequate nutrition during pregnancy.
Wafa Jahlash (27) who gave birth by caesarean section at Al-Helou International Hospital, told us that she was in severe pain when she arrived at the hospital. She waited for a long time to undergo pre-delivery examinations. Tests showed her haemoglobin level was 10 grams per decilitre (the World Health Organization considers levels under 11 grams per decilitre to indicate anaemia for pregnant women).
“I was suffering from iron deficiency. Despite the severity of my condition, the hospital did not keep me admitted because the doctors were unable to provide blood units, and there was no available space for me to stay inside the hospital. Therefore, I returned home until one of my brothers donated one unit of blood for me,” she said.
Women are often forced to undergo surgery without adequate pain relief, face life-threatening haemorrhages without access to blood transfusions, or are denied caesarean sections altogether.
After receiving the blood transfusion, Jahlash said she was prepared for the caesarean section. However, following the operation, doctors told her that she had to return home and have her surgical wound dressing changed daily by anyone available, due to overcrowding in the hospital.
Days later, she returned to the hospital to request a re-examination. “The doctors diagnosed that the wound had become infected due to improper sterilization and because the dressing had not been changed daily inside the hospital. My wound was reopened again,” she added. Thankfully, with improved wound care and antibiotics, she was eventually able to heal.
Inas Al-Hilo (23) who gave birth by caesarean section at Al-Sahaba Medical Complex in April 2026, told us that she was afraid of entering the operating room because hospital staff would not allow any family members to accompany her until the operation had been completed.
“I sat crying for several hours while I was being prepared for the caesarean section. I was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, waiting to enter the anaesthesia room.” Al-Hilo said she was told the hospital was facing a shortage of anaesthesia due to the high number of patients. Although she was ultimately able to receive spinal anaesthesia, the initial warning that there were shortages “only increased my fear and anxiety,” she said.
Al-Hilo continued: “After I left the delivery room, they gave me my newborn baby. I did not hear him cry, but the nurse told me that he was fine and that I had to leave the hospital because it was overcrowded with patients.”
“For us as doctors, these cases are extremely difficult because we know that with proper medication, equipment, and neonatal support, the outcome might have been different.”
Al-Hilo added that she was discharged without adequate monitoring for either herself or her baby. A day later, she noticed that her newborn was not moving and not crying.
“I started crying because this was not normal compared with my previous children,” she said. “I immediately took him back to the hospital, where doctors admitted him to the neonatal intensive care unit. He remained there for one week before passing away.”
Following the loss of her child, Al-Hilo said she suffered severe postpartum bleeding and intense grief and psychological distress. She believes that her baby might have survived if he had been born in a properly functioning hospital with sufficient medical staff, proper newborn assessment, continuous monitoring, and adequate medical resources.
Al-Hilo explained that she was later transferred to another hospital, where she received treatment in a tent under harsh conditions.
“Instead of recovering in a clean and safe medical environment, I was treated in a tent that did not provide even the minimum conditions necessary for postpartum recovery. This experience was both physically exhausting and emotionally overwhelming,” she said.
The World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières, and the United Nations have each independently documented the devastating impacts of the genocide and the blockade on the functioning of hospitals and health outcomes.
When I interviewed Dr. Basel Mohamed, a neonatologist at Al-Mamdani Hospital, he told me that hospitals in Gaza are facing severe shortages and overwhelming pressure. He said that medical teams are caring for pregnant women and new mothers under extremely difficult conditions, with limited beds, staff, medications, blood supplies, anaesthesia, sterilization materials, and equipment for newborn care.
If restrictions on medical supplies continue, common complications during pregnancy and childbirth — such as haemorrhage, infection, premature birth, high blood pressure, and emergency caesarean sections — will become increasingly difficult to manage.
Basel added that many mothers are discharged early due to overcrowding, which makes it harder to monitor postpartum complications such as bleeding, infection, anaemia, and wound healing.
Basel explained that newborns are also at serious risk because hospitals lack essential neonatal resources such as incubators, oxygen supplies, monitors, warming beds, and intensive care support.
One of the most painful cases he witnessed involved a mother named Doaa, who gave birth prematurely in her eighth month of pregnancy. Her newborn required urgent neonatal care and medication to support lung development, but due to the severe shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies, the required treatment was not available. The baby was placed in an incubator, yet even the neonatal unit was suffering from a lack of proper equipment and basic medical resources. Despite the efforts of the medical team, the child remained in critical condition for about a week before passing away.
“For us as doctors, these cases are extremely difficult because we know that with proper medication, equipment, and neonatal support, the outcome might have been different,” he said.
Basel concluded by warning that if restrictions on medical supplies continue, common complications during pregnancy and childbirth — such as haemorrhage, infection, premature birth, high blood pressure, and emergency caesarean sections — will become increasingly difficult to manage. For newborns, particularly premature infants, the lack of adequate neonatal care can lead to respiratory failure, infections, long-term complications, and preventable deaths. He emphasized that although doctors and medical staff are doing everything within their capacity, the health care system no longer has the basic resources needed to save lives.
Shahad Ali is an English literature student and writer from Gaza
Sojoud Alkhour is a translator, English language educator, and writer from Gaza
