Nearly 4,000 Pregnancy Losses in Six Months.
Thousands of women in Gaza have lost their pregnancies amid the collapse of the healthcare system, repeated displacement, shortages of essential supplies, and harsh living conditions, according to new reports from the United Nations and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. The UN Population Fund said nearly 4,000 pregnancy losses were recorded as miscarriages in Gaza between January and June 2026, a rate more than three times higher than in the second half of 2025 — a figure that does not even include miscarriages that occurred outside hospital settings. The agency said pregnant women in the Strip continue to face severe food insecurity, malnutrition, repeated displacement, sustained psychological trauma, and overcrowded, unsanitary living conditions, while interruptions to prenatal care and limited access to diagnostics, medicine, and emergency obstetric procedures are leaving complications undetected or untreated.
A Rate Peaking at One in Four Pregnancies.
A separate July report from the UN’s humanitarian affairs office found that medics recorded 3,950 miscarriages in Gaza during the first half of 2026, compared with 1,197 in the second half of 2025, putting the miscarriage rate at roughly 208 per 1,000 live births — equivalent to about one in every six pregnancies. That rate peaked in April, when more than a quarter of all pregnancies in the Strip ended in miscarriage. The same period saw births drop 3.2% compared to late 2025, with nearly half of all deliveries requiring cesarean sections, almost entirely due to bleeding, high blood pressure, or infection among mothers. The report found that about 74% of pregnancy losses occurred during the first trimester, while 57% of pregnant women were found to be anemic.
Doctors Point to Water, Malnutrition, and Trauma.
Medical officials in Gaza describe a broader crisis extending well beyond miscarriage rates, including a rise in stillbirths, premature deliveries, and dangerous pregnancy complications. Ahmed al-Farra, head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said the miscarriage rate has climbed to nearly three times its pre-war level, pointing to severe water shortages as a central driver — with residents currently limited to around three liters a day, roughly 90% of it undrinkable, fueling infections that weaken the immune system and worsen malnutrition. He also linked the trend to rising anemia, bleeding, and hypertension among women, as well as the nature of food now entering Gaza since the ceasefire: while overall food quantities have increased significantly, much of it is processed and high in sugar, palm oil, and soy, which he said bodies accustomed to prolonged starvation struggle to tolerate. He added that the psychological toll of nearly three years of war, compounded by environmental pollution, is also contributing to the rise in pregnancy complications and related illness.
Euro-Med Monitor separately reported more than 3,950 miscarriage cases across Gaza during the same six-month period, noting that even after the ceasefire took effect in October, hundreds of thousands of women continue living in tents after Israeli military operations damaged or destroyed roughly 90% of homes and infrastructure. The group said pregnant women in Gaza have been exposed to relentless bombardment, explosions, smoke, and psychological shock throughout the war, leaving them at heightened risk of premature birth, delivery complications, inadequate newborn care, and preventable maternal health emergencies. The findings come as a separate UN-backed food security assessment found conditions in Gaza have improved somewhat but remain fragile, with 1.4 million people still classified in acute food insecurity, down slightly from 1.6 million at the end of 2025 — after Gaza’s Health Ministry reported more than 450 deaths from malnutrition since the war began.