Dead bodies, hospitals under attack and no medicine: The difficulties of birth in Gaza 

As the brutal Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip rages on, pregnant Palestinian women are grappling with the dual challenges of giving birth in a warzone and enduring the post-natal hardships that follow, including lack of medicine, food and water, amid constant bombardment.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are around 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and 180 new births per day. 

Approximately 15 percent of these expectant mothers are predicted to face complications related to pregnancy or childbirth and require additional care.

Such care, which should normally be routine, is now a luxury for many mothers, with Israel blocking aid deliveries into Gaza and hospitals constantly being targeted.

Mothers are suffering acute mental distress, trying to keep a baby alive during a war that has killed tens of thousands of people, including more than 10,000 children.

Fedaa Issa is a 28-year-old mother of two who lived in Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza. Before the conflict started, she awaited excitedly the arrival of her new baby girl Aya. 

“We counted down the days before Aya's arrival… my daughter Malak was so excited to have a sister to play with. However, the Israeli assault destroyed our dream,” Issa said.

“The happiness turned into worry and fear. Pregnancy became a burden on my heart.”

Read more: Dead bodies, hospitals under attack and no medicine: The difficulties of birth in Gaza