Newborn Mortality in Gaza Soars 75%

'Painful, Preventable Deaths': Newborn Mortality in Gaza Soars 75% as Maternal Malnutrition Deepens

Author: R Powell

Publication: Great Reporter

Date: December 14, 2025

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Summary:

First-day neonatal deaths in Gaza have risen 75% compared to pre-war levels, according to new UNICEF figures covering the final three months of the war, driven by maternal malnutrition, stress, and near-collapse of prenatal and neonatal care. 

Low birth weight rates tripled from roughly 5% pre-war to approximately 15% by late 2025, with hundreds of underweight newborns each month. Babies born underweight are 20 times more likely to die than healthy-weight infants, with aid workers encountering newborns weighing less than one kilogram.

Chronic food shortages, soaring prices, lack of prenatal supplements, high maternal stress, and restricted clinic access drove the crisis. In October 2025 alone, over 9,000 children under five were treated for acute malnutrition despite subsiding active hostilities. 

Hospitals face shortages of incubators, antibiotics, intravenous fluids, and trained staff, with power outages and fuel scarcity disrupting life-support equipment. Pregnant women displaced multiple times arrive late or not at all for check-ups, with some giving birth in shelters or tents without medical supervision. UNICEF warns survivors face higher risks of developmental delays, chronic illness, and lifelong disability.

Quotes:

"No child should be scarred by war before they have taken their first breath." — UNICEF statement

"By the time a baby is born underweight, the damage has already been done. You are seeing the biological imprint of months of hunger and stress." — Humanitarian health worker

"Children are dying not because their conditions are untreatable, but because the systems that should protect them have been dismantled." — UNICEF