Gaza City, [Current Date] – Oxfam issued a dire warning today, highlighting the escalating toll on newborns in besieged Gaza due to the crumbling healthcare system and devastating living conditions. Premature births have surged by up to a third in the past month, with babies succumbing to preventable causes such as diarrhoea, hypothermia, dehydration, and infection.
Mothers, lacking adequate medical support and enduring appalling conditions without access to water, sanitation, heat, or food, face dire challenges. Oxfam asserts that the anticipated four-day humanitarian pause, if realized, is insufficient to make a meaningful impact given the extensive needs and destruction. The absence of crucial medical equipment and support leaves premature and underweight infants with minimal chances of survival.
Juzoor, an Oxfam partner operating in northern Gaza, is one of the few organizations aiding 500 pregnant women among the 35,000 individuals crowded into 13 shelters without clean water and sanitation. In these overcrowded spaces, up to 600 people share a single toilet. Shockingly, each of these shelters has witnessed at least one newborn fatality in the past month, attributed to entirely preventable causes.
Juzoor’s network of doctors reports a 25-30% increase in premature births. Stressed and traumatized pregnant women face numerous challenges, including navigating long distances for safety, fleeing from bombings, and enduring crowded shelters with squalid conditions. Particularly in northern Gaza, cases of placenta abruption, a serious condition during childbirth, have more than doubled, posing life-threatening risks to both mother and baby.
Umaiyeh Khammash, Juzoor Director, expressed the heartbreaking reality: “Last month, we lost at least one baby in every shelter. Access to hospitals is extremely dangerous and virtually impossible, so many women are having to give birth with little or no maternity support in shelters.”
Fuel shortages have crippled hospitals, exacerbating the crisis in northern Gaza. Winter is approaching, and the lack of light and heat further compounds the dire situation, especially for expectant mothers.
Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East Regional Director, condemned the situation: “Amongst the horror and carnage in Gaza, we are now at the abhorrent stage of babies dying because of diarrhoea and hypothermia. It is shattering that newborns are coming into the world and, due to apocalyptic conditions, stand little chance of survival.”
Oxfam is collaborating with Juzoor to provide hygiene kits and food to the 13 shelters in northern Gaza. Despite their efforts, ongoing violence, siege, and acute shortages of fuel and clean water severely hinder their humanitarian mission. Oxfam urgently calls for a complete ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access via Israel and Egypt to restore vital services and provide essential medical support, particularly to pregnant women and newborns.
