DayofPal—Miscarriage rates among pregnant women in the Gaza Strip have risen to between 60% and 70%, an unprecedented level in the Gaza Strip, according to Al-Shifa medical complex.
Al Shifa Director Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya said that the war and blockade are threatening the health of future generations in the Gaza Strip amid rising rates of miscarriages and birth defects.
He also revealed that medical teams have documented an increase in cases of birth defects linked to malnutrition and harsh health conditions.
“Severe malnutrition and anemia pose a real threat to these children’s development. Their cognitive abilities may also be affected, with an increased likelihood of conditions such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).”
Over 57% of pregnant women suffer from anemia due to the worsening war conditions, depriving fetuses of essential growth elements, which cause congenital birth defects.
Dr. Abu Salmiya said medical teams have documented unprecedented cases of severe abnormalities that they had never encountered before.
These include defects affecting the heart, nervous system, intestines, and both the upper and lower limbs.
He noted that these conditions are linked to severe maternal anemia, malnutrition, and exposure to toxic substances released by the Israeli military across the Gaza Strip.
The destruction of incubators and shortages of medicines and nutritional supplements are also threatening the lives of premature infants and increasing health risks for mothers and children.
“This means we are facing the prospect of an entire generation bearing the long-term consequences of these devastating impacts,” he concluded.
He previously said that the number of deaths caused by the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system due to the Israeli genocide now exceeds the number of people killed in direct Israeli airstrikes.
In an interview with Anadolu marking 1,000 days since Israel’s genocide began, Abu Salmiya described Gaza’s healthcare sector as facing an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”
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