Intensified bombardment and ground operations in Gaza City are forcing families to flee yet again, with nowhere safe left to turn. Thousands of women and girls are being forced to risk their lives on unsafe roads at prohibitive cost, only to reach overcrowded areas with no food, healthcare, shelter, clean water or sanitation.
Pregnant women in Gaza City are unable to receive obstetric care as hospitals and health clinics are being attacked. Four hospitals and 23 outpatient clinics in Gaza City serve 23,000 pregnant women, with around 50 deliveries occurring every day. Most of these facilities are now at risk of imminent shutdown.
Further cuts to health services heighten the risk of maternal and newborn deaths. The risk is particularly grave for the 40% of pregnant women suffering from severe malnutrition, and for their babies, one in five of whom is born underweight or prematurely.
As pregnant women flee to the south, they try to access care in health facilities that are already running dangerously low on fuel or supplies, and operating far beyond their capacity. As a result, every week* in Gaza at least 15 women deliver outside a hospital or health facility, without a skilled birth attendant, risking the lives of both mother and newborn.
Protection services are also being forced to shutter just as they are needed the most. Five UNFPA-supported Women and Girls’ Safe Spaces, which together serve 1,000 women every week, have closed, as has a women’s shelter for survivors of gender-based violence. If hostilities continue, Gaza could lose all remaining protection services, leaving survivors of violence without any refuge or support.
UNFPA and partners remain on the ground in Gaza City, delivering under fire, while also racing to expand services in the south to meet the growing demand. UNFPA, together with partners, has opened Al Awda field maternity hospital in Nusierat near the town of Deir al-Balah; as well as a health centre at Al Rashid reception area. In recent weeks, six UNFPA trucks with reproductive health kits, shelter materials and hygiene supplies have been permitted entry into Gaza, which we are distributing to health facilities. But the level of equipment and supplies permitted into Gaza is nowhere near enough to meet the overwhelming needs.
International humanitarian law is clear: civilians must be protected. They must be assured access to the essentials needed to survive, including food, water, shelter, and healthcare.
UNFPA reiterates its calls for a permanent ceasefire; for all hostages to be released unconditionally; and for unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza so that lifesaving aid can reach those who need it.
*A correction was made to this sentence on 15 September. It previously stated incorrectly that at least 15 women deliver outside a hospital or health facility in Gaza every day.
