UN figures show Gaza birth rates have dropped by nearly half as official alleges 'genocidal acts'

Infections among girls and women surging due to Israeli blockade on hygiene supplies, UNFPA regional director Laila Baker warns

Maryam, a Palestinian mother, cradles her malnourished 40-day-old son Mahmoud at a hospital in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. AFP

The UN is sounding the alarm on the situation for pregnant women and babies in Gaza where birth rates have dropped by 41 per cent since the conflict began, and many infants are dying less than 24 hours after they are born.

More than 5,000 recent newborns were underweight, premature or required intensive care, according to the UN's fund for reproductive and maternal health, UNFPA.

The agency's director for the Arab world, Laila Baker, told The National that Israel's killing of mothers, the starvation of children and the attacking of an IVF hospital where thousands of embryos “that were the lifelines” were destroyed, were all “indicators of genocidal acts”.

She said Israel has also blocked the entry of hygiene products to Gaza, claiming they are “dual use items” that could have a military purpose. “They say that sanitary pads which are included in our hygiene kits can be used to stop the bleeding of wounded people,” Ms Baker said.

In place of sanitary pads, girls and women have had to use rags cut from filthy tents – causing infections to rise, she said. A UN report in March found that Israel's systematic destruction of sexual and reproductive healthcare centres checks two categories of genocidal acts in two war crimes treaties, the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention.

Many Gazans are living in tents with inadequate food and supplies during Israel's siege of the strip. EPA

Little relief

Amid enormous international pressure over Gaza's starvation, Israel said it would start allowing aid into the enclave after more than 120 days of deprivation that has encompassed the most vital of products including flour, baby formula and sanitary pads.

Following Israel's announcement, what little aid entered on Sunday never made it to UN warehouses because desperate and hungry civilians took what they could from the lorries to secure something for their families, the World Food Programme (WFP) told The National.

“It does not take a genius to connect the dots that when you don't have proper nutrition for women who need twice the food and water while pregnant and nursing, that will have an immediate impact on them and their children if they even survive,” Ms Baker said.

Additionally, women tend to prioritise others over themselves even when there's a scarcity in water, hygiene, space and food, which places an additional strain on those already suffering, she added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Sunday said that of the 74 recorded hunger-related deaths in 2025, 63 had occurred in July − including 24 children aged under five, one child older than five and 38 adults.

On Tuesday, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said famine was unfolding in Gaza. “Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,” the report said.

The head of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband, warned that thousands of Gaza's children will either be rescued or allowed to die depending on whether land crossings are opened and unfettered humanitarian access is granted to the people in Gaza. “That is the choice before us,” he said.