Gaza’s fragile cease-fire has brought little relief to the strip’s youngest and most vulnerable, as UNICEF warns of a spiraling maternal malnutrition crisis that is leaving hundreds of newborns underweight, premature and at heightened risk of death.
The agency says the war’s long shadow – marked by food shortages, collapsed health services and staggering psychological stress – is now taking a generational toll.
That warning, delivered by UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram from central Gaza via video link to a press briefing in Geneva, paints a bleak picture of a territory where the conflict has reached the womb.
She described a “devastating domino effect”: mothers who cannot eat enough give birth to babies who arrive too small to survive, or who endure a lifetime of weakened immunity and chronic health problems even if they do.
“No child should be scarred by war before they have taken their first breath,” she said.
