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Over 9,000 women killed, 60,000 pregnant in Gaza malnourished — ministry

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reports alarming conditions on the International Women's Day, calling for urgent intervention to address the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

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24-year-old Palestinian Safaa Salah, who gave birth to a baby girl after a difficult delivery on the night of the Israeli attack resulting dozens of Palestinians killed, is seen with her newborn baby in a makeshift tent in Rafah. / Photo: AA

Around 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza are suffering from malnutrition and dehydration due to Israel’s war against the enclave, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said.

Thursday’s statement came on the eve of the International Women's Day, which falls on March 8 each year.

The ministry said that these women also lack proper health care.

It added that women make up 49 percent of the population of Gaza, most of them in childbearing age, with about 5,000 women giving birth monthly in harsh, unsafe and unhealthy conditions as a result of shelling and displacement.

On Feb. 19, the UN children’s fund (UNICEF) warned that the sharp rise in malnutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in Gaza poses a "serious threat" to their health, especially with the ongoing devastating war.

Due to the war and Israeli restrictions, Palestinians, especially in the Gaza and northern governorates, are on the brink of famine amid severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel, in addition to a health crisis due to the spread of epidemics and the weakness of medical services.

9,000 Palestinian women killed

The Ministry also said the Israeli army has killed nearly 9,000 Palestinian women in the course of its devastating onslaught on the enclave.

"The silence of the international community has contributed to the genocide of Palestinian women," Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qudra said on Thursday in a statement.

Al Qudra noted that Palestinian women, particularly in Gaza, are experiencing the worst humanitarian catastrophe "of killing, displacement, arrest, miscarriage, epidemics and death from hunger as a result of the Israeli aggression."

He urged the United Nations to work for "an immediate halt of the Israeli aggression and genocide" and also called on "international women's organizations to mobilise efforts to end the Israeli aggression" on Gaza.

The ministry also urged international institutions to support the living, health, psychological and social needs of Palestinian women, especially in Gaza.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities since Oct. 7.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85 percent of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.