The Director of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, reported that the Gaza Strip witnessed the birth of approximately 50,000 babies in 2025, a decrease of 11 percent compared to pre-war rates, due to the sharp deterioration in health and living conditions caused by the Israeli war of extermination.
In statements to Anadolu Agency on Saturday, al-Barsh explained that the health sector in Gaza documented 4,900 cases of low birth weight births during the same year, an increase of over 60 percent compared to the period before the war.
He added that 4,100 premature births were recorded in 2025 as a result of mothers being subjected to severe psychological and physical stress and being deprived of basic healthcare.
Furthermore, al-Barsh pointed out that assessing the crimes of extermination “is not based solely on the number of those born, but also on those deprived of safe childbirth, those born in life-threatening circumstances, and those who lost their lives before even the most basic necessities for survival were available to them.”
In this context, Al-Barsh emphasized that Israel continues to directly target children, including killing fetuses in their mothers’ wombs.
He explained that during 2025, 616 deaths in utero were recorded, a figure that is “double the rates recorded before the war, reflecting the direct impact of the aggression on fetuses.”
He also noted the documentation of 457 deaths of newborns immediately after birth, an increase of 50 percent, amidst the near-total collapse of medical services.
In a related context, Al-Barsh stated that 60 percent of the Palestinians killed by Israel after the ceasefire agreement that went into effect last October were children and women.
According to the Government Media Office, Israel killed 524 Palestinians and injured 1,360 others by committing 1,450 violations of the ceasefire agreement.
On another front, Al-Barsh revealed serious violations committed by Israel, including “stealing the kidneys of martyrs in the Gaza Strip,” without providing further details.
On more than one occasion, Israel has returned the bodies of Palestinians killed during its military operations, whose remains it had withheld, or whose bodies the army had stolen from Gaza cemeteries. These returns occurred either as part of prisoner exchange deals under ceasefire agreements or during the months of the genocidal campaign.
In closing, Al-Barsh emphasized the dire health situation in Gaza due to Israeli practices since the start of the genocidal war on October 8, 2023.
