Amid the ongoing war and the tight siege on the Gaza Strip, the outlines of a dangerous Israeli policy targeting the health and development of an entire generation of children are becoming clearer day by day.
Depriving newborns of essential medications such as folic acid and other vital nutrients for fetal growth, and preventing the entry of complete foods including proteins, meat, eggs, milk, and cheese, constitute a comprehensive strategy of starvation, creating a generation suffering from health problems and birth defects in the long term.
Munir al-Barsh, Director General of Hospitals in the Gaza Strip, confirms that the health situation of newborns has reached a level of “structural collapse” due to the near-total denial of vital medications for mothers during pregnancy, most notably folic acid and nutrients essential for fetal development.
In an exclusive interview with the Palestinian Information Center, he explained that this deprivation is not a temporary disruption but rather the result of a deliberate siege policy that precisely targets the prenatal stages. Al-Barsh explained that approximately 82% of children under the age of one year suffer today from anemia of varying severity, which is a dangerous indicator reflecting a lack of iron, proteins and vitamins that should have reached them through their mothers’ nutrition during pregnancy, and through breastfeeding and primary nutrition after birth.
Al-Barsh revealed, with supporting figures, that the war and the resulting lack of healthcare have led to an unprecedented rise in the number of babies born with birth defects.
According to data from the Ministry of Health, between 1,200 and 1,500 babies were born with birth defects in Gaza last year, the highest rate in decades. These defects include malformations of the nervous system, spine, urinary system, and heart.
Al-Barsh explained that these defects are directly linked to mothers being deprived of folic acid in the first weeks of pregnancy, the crucial stage during which the neural tube of the fetus develops.
