Nearly 20,000 babies born in Gaza war

UN spokeswoman Tess Ingram, returning from a recent visit to the Gaza Strip, described mothers bleeding to death and a nurse who performed emergency caesarean sections on six women who died.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), nearly 20,000 babies have been born in the fighting since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7. "Every 10 minutes a baby is born in this terrible war," said Ms Ingram.

A woman bathes a baby at a tent camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. PHOTO: AFP

“Becoming a mother should be a time of celebration. But seeing babies in pain while some mothers bleed to death keeps us all awake at night,” she said, stressing the need for urgent international action.

According to an AFP tally based on official figures, the October 7 attack by Hamas killed about 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians.

According to figures from the Hamas-run Health Authority, Israel's relentless air and ground offensive in response has killed at least 24,762 Palestinians, about 70 percent of them women, children and teenagers.

Ingram described “heartbreaking” encounters with women caught up in the chaos. “Mothers face unimaginable challenges in accessing adequate health care, nutrition and protection before, during and after childbirth,” she said.

“The situation of pregnant women and newborns in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable and requires strong and immediate action,” she added.

Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and newborn babies were living in “inhumane” conditions, including makeshift shelters, poor nutrition and unsafe water, she said, warning that this “puts around 135,000 children under the age of two at risk of severe malnutrition”.

Mai Van (according to UN, AFP, CNA)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lien-hop-quoc-gan-20000-tre-duoc-sinh-ra-trong-dau-kho-boi-chien-su-gaza-post281654.html