Jason Lee, Save the Children’s Country Director in Gaza, said: “Babies are being born into a nightmare, a humanitarian catastrophe. The violence must stop. We need a ceasefire. We need it now.”
In a written statement from Save the Children, it was emphasized that all 15,000 babies expected to be born in Gaza by the end of the year are at serious risk due to the escalating violence. The statement underscored the crisis in medical care, water, and food in the region.
According to the statement, the organization’s study on baby births is based on the latest data from the United Nations (UN), estimating that approximately 180 women give birth every day in Gaza. Additionally, reference was made to a recent study, which took into account the multiple birth rates in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The statement indicated that approximately 15% of women giving birth in Gaza are deemed “likely” to experience complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. The assessment included the following considerations:
“Clean water is scarce, food and medicines are running low, and pregnant or breastfeeding women are struggling to find food.
Hospitals and health facilities already facing severe shortages are under attack, putting thousands of patients, including pregnant women and newborns, in grave danger.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said over half of Gaza’s hospitals – 22 out of 36 – are now “non-functional.'”
“Babies are being born into a nightmare, a humanitarian catastrophe“
Maha, a Save the Children staff member in Gaza who is now displaced to the south but used to shelter outside Al Shifa hospital spoke of what she witnessed a few days ago when fuel was running out:
“The scenes at the hospitals were horrible. Pregnant women in the hallways screaming in pain. Unidentified newborn babies in incubators, without any living family members. The fuel has run out, I had to flee, I don’t know if they survived.
Jason Lee, Save the Children’s Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory, said:
“Babies are being born into a nightmare, a humanitarian catastrophe. Their families are being cut off from the basics. Pregnant women giving birth without medical care and premature babies dying in incubators. Fuel must be allowed into Gaza to power the generators and healthcare facilities must be protected. The violence must stop. We need a ceasefire. We need it now.”