Human Rights Watch (HRW) has raised concerns about the disproportionate harm faced by pregnant women in Gaza due to ongoing hostilities. According to HRW’s recent report, women in Palestine are encountering severe challenges in finding safe birthing locations amid the Israel-Gaza conflict. These challenges are exacerbated for women experiencing high-risk pregnancies, further complicated by food insecurity.
Data from March 2024 indicates that 68 percent of women in the region suffered medical complications related to pregnancy, attributed to the substandard healthcare and sanitation conditions prevailing during the conflict. The report states that, as of January 2025, emergency obstetric and newborn care is severely limited. Only seven of 18 partially functional hospitals across Gaza and a scant number of field hospitals provide emergency services, a sharp decline from the medical facilities available before the escalation on October 7, 2023, as noted in a humanitarian situation update.
Alongside the healthcare challenges, Israel’s blockade of Gaza has significantly worsened food insecurity issues, directly impacting pregnant mothers’ rights. By October 2024, nearly 133,000 individuals endured catastrophic food insecurity levels, with an additional 664,000 people facing emergency-level shortages, based on recent statistics.
The blockade’s impact touches upon multiple points of international humanitarian law. HRW describes the blockade that restricts essentials like food, water, electricity, and fuel as a collective punishment of Gaza’s population. Under the Rome Statute, using starvation of civilians as a warfare method and deliberately obstructing relief supplies is characterized as a war crime, which corroborates with international legal frameworks.
This report adds to a growing number of allegations against Israel for rights violations amid its military operations in Gaza. Notably, the International Court of Justice in May 2024 directed Israel to cease its offensive due to genocide fears. Moreover, the International Criminal Court issued warrants against Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Currently, a ceasefire agreement has been brokered between Israel and Hamas, enacted on January 17, 2025. The effectiveness of this ceasefire in alleviating the highlighted issues remains to be determined.