The Unicef has said that nearly 20,000 babies have been born into the current conflict in Gaza, while 135,000 children in the Gaza Strip under the age of two are at “severe risk” of malnutrition.

Noting that the number equals one baby born about every 10 minutes since October 7, Tess Ingram, a Unicef spokesperson, told a press briefing in Geneva: “The situation of pregnant women and newborns in the Gaza Strip is beyond belief, and it demands intensified and immediate actions”.

“The already precarious situation of infant and maternal mortality has worsened as the healthcare system collapses,” Ingram stressed, adding that mothers face unimaginable challenges in accessing adequate medical care, nutrition, and protection before, during, and after birth.