20,000 babies born during war on Gaza, 135,000 minors at 'severe risk' of malnutrition: UNICEF

Nearly 20,000 babies have been born during Israel's continuing war in Gaza, while 135,000 children in the Gaza Strip under the age of two are at “severe risk” of malnutrition UNICEF warned on Friday.

“The situation of pregnant women and newborns in the Gaza Strip is beyond belief, and it demands intensified and immediate actions,” Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesperson, said.

“The already precarious situation of infant and maternal mortality has worsened as the healthcare system collapses.”

"The already precarious situation of infant and maternal mortality has worsened as the healthcare system collapses," Ingram stressed, adding that mothers face unimaginable challenges in accessing adequate medical care, nutrition, and protection before, during, and after birth.

Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and their babies are living in "inhumane conditions, makeshift shelters (with) poor nutrition and unsafe water."

"This is putting about 135,000 children under the age of two at severe risk of malnutrition," she warned.