15,000 pregnant women in Gaza face severe hunger crisis, UN warns

The Gaza Strip is witnessing a dire humanitarian crisis, with 50,000 pregnant women at heightened risk due to extreme conditions, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports.

Of these, an alarming 15,000 are teetering on the brink of famine, according to the UN’s recent data.

Adding to the crisis, around 4,000 Palestinian babies are expected to be born in the territory this month under increasingly desperate circumstances. The widespread displacement caused by ongoing violence has exacerbated the plight of these women and their families.

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“Approximately 15,000 of them are likely to be on the verge of famine,” the UN Population Fund said.

About 1.9 million individuals—90 percent of Gaza’s population—remain forcibly displaced with scant access to life-sustaining resources such as food, clean water, and medical care. Many of them are seeking refuge in UN-designated shelters, including schools, which have been repurposed to accommodate the swelling numbers of those fleeing violence.

Tragically, several of these shelters have been targeted and struck in the ongoing bombardments.

UNFPA’s statement underscores the scale of the crisis, calling for immediate humanitarian intervention to address the urgent needs of displaced and vulnerable populations.