Gaza’s unseen casualties: A surge in stillbirths and birth defects
Newborns wrapped in green scrubs on a bed after being taken off incubators at al-Shifa Hospital after power outages following heavy gunfire and bombing
Ibrahim al-Khalili writes in Al Jazeera on 22 Apr 2026:
In a neonatal unit at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, newborn babies are fighting for their lives against severe congenital anomalies linked to the harsh conditions of Israel’s genocidal war.
Two-month-old Osama was born with a hole in his heart and enlarged ventricles in his brain. His mother, Najia Zurub, has not left the hospital since his birth.
“I became pregnant with him during the war, and the pregnancy was exhausting due to the lack of food,” Zurub said, adding that she was living in tents without access to safe drinking water. The severe strain and stress forced her to deliver early. Doctors confirmed that Osama’s condition is not genetic, noting he is her first child and there is no family history of such health issues.
Osama shares the ward with two-week-old Ahmed, who is showing signs of hydrocephalus – an excess of fluid in the brain’s ventricles, which causes pressure on brain tissues – and two-month-old Suheir, who was born with multiple deformities affecting her mouth and ears. Earlier in the day, the unit held five babies with congenital anomalies, but baby Fatama was rushed to intensive care to fight for her life, and another infant, Iyal, passed away.
An unprecedented surge
While it is often difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of specific congenital anomalies, health officials in Gaza state that the sheer number of cases they are currently seeing is unprecedented.