Miscarriages soar in Gaza and birth rate drops, UN report finds

As birth rates in Gaza drop, the rate of miscarriages has risen sharply, according to a UN report published last week.The data indicated that medics in Gaza recorded 3,950 miscarriages between January and June 2026, compared to 1,197 in the second half of 2025. The birth rate also declined by 3.2 per cent since the first six months of 2026, compared with the first half of 2025.As Gaza’s health system struggles under bombardments and Israeli ground operations, inadequate access to prenatal care, malnutrition and psychological strain have been cited as key factors contributing to the spike. Damage caused by an artillery shell that hit the maternity hospital inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza (Getty)But miscarriages are not the only crisis confronting Gaza's maternity wards. Doctors across the Strip say they are also seeing unprecedented numbers of babies being born prematurely.Dr Adnan Radi, head of Gaza’s Health Ministry advisory committee told Middle East Eye: "We have seen a sharp increase in premature births before 26 weeks of pregnancy." The rise comes as hospitals face a critical shortage of neonatal intensive care (NICU) beds, leaving premature babies with a far lower chance of survival. In February, Unicef reported that nearly one in five newborns in Gaza required intensive care or thermal incubation.However, with the Israeli siege having effectively blocked, delayed, and prevented NICU equipment from entering or moving within Gaza, the strain on the Strip’s already “decimated” maternity wards has compounded even further, according to the UN.Obstetricians working in Gaza are also reporting drastic increases in birth complications involving severe congenital abnormalities."In previous years, seeing a baby born without limbs or feet was an extremely rare occurrence,” explained Dr Radi.“Now, it has become a recurring phenomenon in delivery wards."While relatively little research has been conducted on the effects of war-related environmental contamination on pregnancy, previous studies in Gaza have found congenital birth defects to be significantly more common among families reporting exposure to white phosphorus attacks.The use of white phosphorus against civilians can constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law.While the Israeli military has explicitly denied using white phosphorus in Gaza, labelling the accusation “unequivocally false,” Human Rights Watch has independently documented its use in Gaza post-October 7. Israel is believed to have used white phosphorus against civilians in Gaza (Reuters)Pointing out the effects of over-exposure to toxic residues from ammunition, Dr Radi said Israeli strikes could have lasting effects on Gaza’s future generations.The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned last week that around 67 percent of Gaza's population — an estimated 1.4 million people — are facing “critical” or “worse” levels of acute food insecurity through to December.The IPC estimates that nearly 25,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Gaza will require urgent nutritional support over the coming year.