The United Nations Population Fund said Israel’s ongoing aid blockade into Gaza is creating a critical shortage of maternal health supplies.
They include much needed drugs for pregnancy and to prevent deaths and complications during childbirth.
Since the beginning of the month, Israel has cut off the entry of all food and other goods into Gaza, and last week resumed bombardment as it tries to pressure Hamas to accept its demands to extend the January ceasefire.
UNFPA said its supplies are languishing at the border, including more than 50 ultrasounds to monitor fetal health, nine incubators and 350 midwifery kits to help during deliveries, impacting more than 15,000 women.
The group said pregnant women and newborns in Gaza are facing higher than normal rates of complications, driven by widespread malnutrition, which is being compounded by the aid blockade.
Since the blockade around 520 babies — one in five —have required advanced medical care that is increasingly scarce, it said.
