Bread and shelter: some 8,000 pregnant women are living in hunger in Gaza
The UN warns of a demographic crisis in Gaza. Over the past year, the birth rate in the sector has fallen by almost a third. This was reported to "Izvestia" by the UN Population Fund. The world organization specified that pregnant women now have three times higher risks of miscarriage or death during childbirth. Difficult humanitarian conditions are aggravated with the onset of winter. Against this background, negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are gaining momentum. The expert community believes that even a temporary truce could lead to a comprehensive settlement of the conflict between the parties.
Declining birth rate in the Gaza Strip
In the war-torn Gaza Strip, one of the world's most densely populated regions, the birth rate has fallen by almost 30% over the past year, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) told Izvestia. The sharp decline is due to ongoing military action, a deteriorating humanitarian situation, severe food shortages and growing economic hardship.
- Pregnant women in Gaza face significant difficulties in accessing safe delivery, prenatal and postnatal care. Ongoing conflict and attacks on hospitals have severely damaged the health infrastructure. About 4,000 women in Gaza are expected to give birth each month. This translates to about 130 births per day," UNFPA told us.
By comparison, in November 2023, the agency estimated that an average of 5,500 women gave birth each month, nearly 30 percent more than the current number.
About 50,000 pregnant women were left without the most basic necessities for survival, the UN said.
- With the onset of winter, food, temporary shelter materials are in catastrophic shortage, water, sanitation and hygiene conditions deteriorate even further. The already alarming rates of food insecurity and malnutrition are worsening," the agency said.
At least 345,000 people, including 38,000 adolescent girls and 8,000 pregnant women, live in hunger in the Gaza Strip.
- As a result, many women are forced to give birth at home without any medical care. Pregnant women are now three times more likely to miscarry or die in childbirth. Reports of premature births and low birth weight babies are on the rise, and malnutrition makes breastfeeding difficult for young mothers," UNFPA said.
The UN Population Fund has deployed six mobile maternity clinics in Gaza, but this is too few in the current circumstances. Some 40 UN-owned trucks carrying reproductive health supplies, hygiene items and equipment have been stuck in the Egyptian town of El Arish near the Gaza border for more than 50 days.
- As winter temperatures plummet, the lack of essential medical care, shelter, blankets and menstrual supplies is exacerbating the problems faced by women and girls in Gaza, the world organization said.
Accusations of genocide against Israel
South Africa's lawsuit against Israel to protect the Palestinian population from genocide has already been tried in the UN International Court of Justice. In January 2024, the court ruled that the Jewish state must cease acts falling under the Genocide Convention. The ruling came after a lawsuit by the Republic of South Africa. The court also ordered Israel to provide humanitarian aid and basic services to the people of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
According to the local Ministry of Health, since the beginning of the conflict, more than 43,000 Palestinians have died and more than 104,000 have been injured. More than 1.5 million have been forced to leave their homes. Israel denies these figures, calling them "Hamas propaganda." Earlier in an interview with Izvestia, Dmitry Gendelman, an adviser to Israel's Prime Minister, said that his country estimates that at least half of the dead were armed men and fighters of the Palestinian movement.
Israel's leadership nevertheless continues to face pressure from the international community. On Nov. 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant for "crimes against humanity and war crimes."
The court ruled: there is reason to believe that Netanyahu and Galant deliberately deprived civilians in the Gaza Strip of access to basic necessities, resulting in the deaths of adults and children due to malnutrition and dehydration. It is emphasized, however, that there was no military necessity in restricting humanitarian supplies.
The court also found Netanyahu and Galant criminally liable for using starvation as a method of warfare, persecution and other inhumane acts. Netanyahu's office accused the ICC of isolating Israel and "facilitating terrorist attacks" against the country.
The Israeli leadership sharply criticized the court's decision. The prime minister said ICC Attorney General Karim Khan "undermines the right of any democracy to defend itself against terrorist organizations and aggressors," and accused the attorney general of anti-Semitism.
Negotiations to end the war in Gaza
Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have intensified in recent weeks. The Palestinian movement has already claimed to have received a new text for a hostage release deal. Egypt and Qatar have once again become the center of mediation efforts. Doha had previously suspended its efforts toward a Gaza deal because, according to statements by the monarchy's Foreign Ministry, the parties to the conflict did not seek a deal.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Hamas agreed for the first time to maintain the presence of the Israeli military in the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. According to the Journal, the Palestinian movement handed over a list of hostages who will be released as part of the deal, which includes a 60-day truce period.
Israeli soldier
Egypt has not abandoned efforts to bring these tragic events to an end. Even a temporary truce could lead to a comprehensive settlement, Egyptian international relations specialist Tarek al-Bardisi told Izvestia.
Earlier, Hamas representative in Lebanon Ahmed Abdel Hadi told Izvestia that the Palestinian movement is ready to show flexibility in some clauses of the Gaza Strip ceasefire deal.
- Israel wants to take advantage of the temporary difficulties by redeploying as many troops as possible to Syria. In addition, Israel wants to make sure that if it takes Syria, its rear is not open to Hamas. In doing so, it has managed to undermine the process of supplying arms to the resistance forces," Iranian international relations specialist Hadi Issa Daloul told Izvestia.
In his opinion, under the current circumstances, Hamas should agree to the deal because it makes no sense for the movement to continue fighting after the change of power in Syria and the weakening of Hezbollah.
- They find themselves under siege. As a result, there is no more room for an operation to unite the axis of resistance after what happened in Syria and Lebanon," Hadi Issa Daloul shared his opinion.
The new plan, proposed by Cairo and backed by the US, aims to build on the positive momentum created after the ceasefire in Lebanon, which is largely respected.
A total of 100 hostages are now being held in Gaza, among them two Russian citizens - Alexander Trufanov and Maxim Harkin. The Hamas leadership considers them Israeli military, but they are ready to release them as a gesture of respect to Russia in the first place, if a deal is struck.
On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack and ground invasion by Hamas. The Palestinian movement's fighters killed more than 1,200 people. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded by launching Operation Iron Swords and imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Iron Swords and imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip. According to the enclave's Ministry of Health, these actions have killed more than 44,000 people. Since the beginning of the unprecedented escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, the IDF has been actively targeting Hamas command posts, underground tunnels, weapons depots and other important facilities. The destruction of this infrastructure weakens the organization's ability to coordinate its actions and conduct major operations.
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