Israel’s war in Gaza has caused high numbers of maternal and neonatal deaths, say two reports
Israel’s war in Gaza has led to a 41% fall in births in the territory, and high numbers of maternal deaths, miscarriages, newborn mortality and premature births, two reports into the impact of the conflict on pregnant women, babies and maternity care reveal.
Two reports by Physicians for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel document how the war has led to high figures for maternal and neonatal mortality and forced births in dangerous conditions and systematically dismantled health services – consequences of “a deliberate intention of preventing births among Palestinians, meeting the legal criteria of the Genocide Convention,” researchers said.
Building on PHRI’s earlier findings, the reports place women’s testimonies alongside health data and field reports, documenting “2,600 miscarriages, 220 pregnancy-related deaths, 1,460 premature births, over 1,700 underweight newborns, and over 2,500 infants requiring neonatal intensive care,” between January and June 2025.
Lama Bakri, from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), said: “These figures represent a shocking deterioration from pre-war ‘normalcy’, and are the direct result of war trauma, starvation, displacement, and the collapse of maternal healthcare.”
