[News] Eradicating the roots: How ‘Israel’ wages war on fertility in Gaza

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Eradicating the roots: How ‘Israel’ wages war on fertility in Gaza
Ahmad al-Fakhrani
June 8, 2025
------------------------------

This is not just a detail in the genocide in Gaza: How is “Israel” waging a
covert war on Palestinian fertility?

   - [image: Between October 2023 and June 2024, 14 fertility clinics were
   bombed, including embryo banks that stored over 20,000 genetic samples,
   according to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and
   UNICEF.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/2f6b3a11-024b-40b3-9cd4-ed259f73f245.webp?v=3&width=1000>
   Between October 2023 and June 2024, 14 fertility clinics were bombed,
   including embryo banks that stored over 20,000 genetic samples, according
   to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF (Al
   Mayadeen)

In a remote corner of the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, where life and
death collide relentlessly, a Palestinian woman sits on the rubble of what
was once her home. She holds her infant in her arms and stares into a
horizon thick with dust. Her eyes are not searching for an approaching
funeral or for much-delayed humanitarian aid. Instead, they peer at a
scorched crater kilometers away, where before the Israeli genocide began
lay the Basma Fertility Center.

Here, in December 2023, that woman’s journey with hope came to an end when
an Israeli shell destroyed a distant glass container that held what was
meant to become her second child, a frozen embryo which for years had
waited for a chance at life. That woman not only lost the possibility of
giving birth again; she lost everything the future meant.
Shattered Wombs: Stories of biological loss

   - [image: In December 2023, an Israeli strike hit the center, blowing up
   the embryo lab and exposing five tanks containing liquid nitrogen.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/7e38988b-dd46-4be0-ade6-9b778526bcd0.jpg?width=1000>
   In December 2023, an Israeli strike hit the center, blowing up the embryo
   lab and exposing five tanks containing liquid nitrogen.

In Gaza’s skies, the war has shifted from a battle over land to a war on
the very seeds of life. 17 years ago, Dr. Bahaa al-Din al-Ghalayini (73),
an obstetrician-gynecologist and infertility consultant trained in
Cambridge, founded the Basma Fertility and IVF Center. The center became a
beacon of hope for thousands of Palestinian families struggling with
fertility issues, operating as an advanced medical institution, forming
partnerships with European and Arab centers, and keeping pace with
technological and scientific advancements.

But in December 2023, an Israeli strike hit the center, blowing up the
embryo lab and exposing five tanks containing liquid nitrogen, stored in a
corner of Embryo Unit 29. Dr. al-Ghalayini describes the moment with a
broken heart:

“When the ultra-cold liquid evaporated, the temperature inside the tanks
rose, killing more than 4,000 embryos and over 1,000 other samples of sperm
and unfertilized eggs.” These embryos had been preserved at a stable
temperature of -180°C.

Saba Jaafarawi is one of the thousands of women who lost their hope of
motherhood. She had undergone three years of fertility treatment, a
psychologically grueling journey. The process of extracting eggs from her
ovaries was painful, and the hormone injections had severe side effects.

Despite all the suffering, Saba held on to fragile hope, but the bombing
ended everything. At least half of the couples, according to al-Ghalayini,
will no longer have another chance to conceive, as they are now unable to
produce viable sperm or fertilizable eggs.
Between poverty and hope: The fragile reality of childbearing in Gaza

   - [image: The report also highlighted unprecedented harm inflicted on
   pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and new mothers in Gaza, with
   irreparable consequences on reproductive potential.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/55a62f2e-791e-4612-a363-efcd25f75d3d.webp?width=1000>
   The report also highlighted unprecedented harm inflicted on pregnant women,
   breastfeeding mothers, and new mothers in Gaza, with irreparable
   consequences on reproductive potential.

Before the war, Gaza, despite its dire economic conditions, was home to a
society that celebrated large families. According to data, nearly half of
the population in the Strip is under the age of 18, and fertility rates
were high, at 3.38 births per woman (compared to 1.63 in Britain).

In a previous study by Dr. Raed Salha, a professor of human geography at
the Islamic University of Gaza, the fertility rate dropped from 6.9
children per woman in 1997 to 5 children in 2020, yet remained above global
averages.

Dr. al-Ghalayini explains, “Despite the poverty in the Strip, couples
suffering from infertility resort to IVF, and for this dream, they sell
household appliances like TVs or jewelry to afford the treatment.” Before
the war, fertility treatments were widely available in Gaza, with at least
nine clinics offering IVF procedures. The Basma Center alone received
between 2,000 and 3,000 patients each month.

The targeting of Basma was not an isolated incident. The UN fact-finding
committee reported that “Israel” “deliberately attacked and destroyed” the
main fertility center in Gaza.

Between October 2023 and June 2024, 14 fertility clinics were bombed,
including embryo banks that stored over 20,000 genetic samples, according
to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

The UN committee concluded that Israeli forces intentionally attacked and
destroyed the clinic, including all stored reproductive materials meant for
future pregnancies, describing the destruction as an effort “to prevent
births among Palestinians in Gaza, an act of genocide.”

The report also highlighted unprecedented harm inflicted on pregnant women,
breastfeeding mothers, and new mothers in Gaza, with irreparable
consequences on reproductive potential.
Fertility as a battlefield

   - [image: The population growth rate, estimated at 2.7% in 2023, dropped
   to below 1% in 2024.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/db5358ee-2528-4ab7-8ea5-6b946982c106.webp?width=1000>
   The population growth rate, estimated at 2.7% in 2023, dropped to below 1%
   in 2024.

On October 7, 2023, around 50 Palestinian women were in the middle of
hormone injection cycles, preparing for egg retrieval at IVF clinics, until
the war interrupted their treatment and robbed them of their chances at
motherhood.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, more than 50,000
pregnant women currently sheltering in displacement centers lack adequate
food and proper, safe healthcare. About 15% are expected to face
complications during pregnancy and childbirth that require unavailable
medical support.

The Israeli war on Gaza hasn’t been limited to military bombardment.
According to reports by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, “Israel”
has banned the import of contraceptives into Gaza since 2022, under the
pretext of “preventing terrorism financing.” Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch
has documented cases of forced miscarriages among Palestinian female
detainees.

The impact goes beyond horrifying statistics about maternal deaths. The
aggression has significantly altered Gaza’s demographic composition. The
population growth rate, estimated at 2.7% in 2023, dropped to below 1% in
2024, with forecasts of birth and fertility rates approaching zero due to
deteriorating conditions, fears for mothers’ and babies’ health, and an
unprecedented decline in new marriages.

Data shows that the total fertility rate for Palestinian women in Gaza was
approximately 3.9 births per woman, but this is expected to continue
dropping if the aggression persists, meaning the Strip’s population is
unlikely to surpass 2.3 million between 2023–2025, compared to earlier
estimates projecting it would exceed 2.4 million by 2025.
Israeli demographic engineering: From rhetoric to practice

   - [image: This photo taken by Dr. al-Ghalayini shows some of the damage
   that befell the Basma Fertility Clinic.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/e9bf9b7b-f6ef-4f88-8c2a-1650e980109a.webp?width=1000>
   This photo taken by Dr. al-Ghalayini shows some of the damage that befell
   the Basma Fertility Clinic.

To understand the context of these attacks more deeply, one must examine
what is known as Israeli demographic engineering, which are systematic
policies designed to maintain a Jewish majority and diminish Palestinian
presence, particularly in al-Quds and other areas.

Studies indicate that the so-called “Palestinian demographic bomb” has long
been an obsession for Israeli policymakers, pushing them to adopt strict
demographic strategies. These include restricting the reunification of
Palestinian families, revoking residency permits, imposing construction
limitations, and demolishing homes, all aimed at keeping the Palestinian
population in al-Quds, for example, under 30% within the municipal
boundaries of the city.

Researchers argue that destroying embryo preservation labs does not merely
mean the loss of one potential child, but the loss of entire genetic
lineages that could span generations, underscoring the deep demographic
implications of such policies.

Maps and reports show that Israeli aggressions follow a documented pattern
in Israeli military targeting plans, focusing on densely populated areas
such as the Shuja’iyya neighborhood, where there are three fertility
clinics per square kilometer.

These attacks directly impact pregnant women through death, injury, or
inhalation of toxic gases. They also inflict severe psychological and
physical harm caused by extreme fear and anxiety, and depriving women of
gender-specific protections. Additionally, they weaken medical services for
pregnant women and make safe access to care extremely difficult, forcing
many to give birth at home or in shelters, conditions that increase the
risks of medical complications and intensify the suffering and
psychological burden on this vulnerable group.
The economics of destruction: The high cost of loss

   - [image: Gaza Ministry reports 108 martyrs in 24 hours amid ongoing
   aggression]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/43b48da7-77a6-4598-82e8-ad9078f352cb.jpg?width=1000>

Behind the scenes of destruction lies a calculated machine: Israeli
assaults are executed with precise cost-benefit calculations rather than
randomness. For example, a single bomb dropped from an F-35 fighter jet
costs approximately $3.5 million, a sum roughly equivalent to Gaza’s
healthcare budget for 18 months, according to Palestinian economic
estimates.

This massive investment in destroying healthcare infrastructure aims not
only to paralyze the health system but to create long-term financial
incapacity, making the reconstruction of the sector a nearly impossible
task. As a result, pregnancy and childbirth become dangerous endeavors
plagued by poverty and disease due to the lack of basic medical care.

On a broader scale, these attacks have redrawn Gaza’s population map. The
population density has declined notably, with a 6% drop in population,
about 160,000 people, since the war began, due to mass killings and forced
displacement. The population now stands at approximately 2.1 million, over
half of whom are children under 18.

Israeli policies have transformed Gaza from a historically densely
populated region (over 5,500 people per km²) into an isolated “human
reserve” devoid of the biological and social conditions necessary for life,
due to the collapse of healthcare and economic infrastructure, high poverty
and unemployment rates, and rising numbers of widows and orphans,
threatening the long-term survival of Palestinian society in the Strip.

Amid these systematic attempts to eradicate reproductive health in Gaza,
exceptional grassroots initiatives have emerged, highlighting the
resilience of Palestinian women. International organizations have
documented how midwives and healthcare workers continued to provide care
despite extreme risks and resource shortages. They adopted alternative and
primitive solutions to assist births and care for pregnant women, using
household tools and natural disinfectants in the absence of basic medical
supplies.

These community efforts, which could be called the “resistance’s womb
network,” have been especially prominent in refugee camps, where midwives
collaborated with families to find alternatives to IVF after fertility
centers were bombed, resulting in the loss of thousands of embryos and
genetic samples.

In an interview, Dr. al-Ghalayini remarked that despite the destruction of
the clinic, “the professional and human spirit we built over decades will
not die,” adding, “We know with all our being what those 5,000 potential
lives meant, to the fathers and mothers, for the future, and for the past.”

What is emerging in Gaza today could be described as “resistance through
childbirth,” a notion some describe as a “Palestinian weapon threatening
the Israeli project.” Despite war, siege, and destruction, “the number of
Palestinians has doubled.” At the entrance of the destroyed Al-Shifa
Hospital, a handwritten message scrawled on a half-collapsed wall reads:
“Every womb that gives birth here is a second birth certificate for
Palestine.”
Resilience in the face of demographic engineering: Motherhood as battlefield

   - [image: Motherhood is no longer just a personal, intimate experience,
   it becomes an existential cause for an entire society.]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/6/8/4d692899-51ad-4b71-95eb-534af98cde62.webp?width=1000>
   Motherhood is no longer just a personal, intimate experience, it has become
   an existential cause for an entire society.

When studying Israeli demographic engineering, one sees that it extends
beyond direct military warfare on Gaza. A study by the Palestinian Policy
Network describes the Israeli entity as subjecting Palestinians across all
of historic Palestine to a complex regime of demographic control.

Through strategic fragmentation of the Palestinian people and a suite of
segregation laws, “Israel” continues to revoke Palestinian residency
rights, deny family reunification across the Green Line, strip people of
citizenship, and enforce forced displacement [outside Palestine]. Within
this framework, the targeting of fertility centers and embryo banks in Gaza
becomes part of a broader demographic control strategy.

This is not the first aggression on Gaza, but it is the first to
systematically target the future of its next generations. As Dr. Raed Salha
from the Islamic University in Gaza notes, “There’s a component tied to the
demographic struggle. Today, the Israeli occupation is trying to increase
its numbers while simultaneously settling on Palestinian land.”

Thus, the female body becomes a battlefield, the womb a trench, and
fertility a weapon. Motherhood is no longer just a personal, intimate
experience, it has become an existential cause for an entire society. Every
child born is a challenge to death, every baby that survives a triumph of
hope over despair.

Beneath the rubble and smoke of destroyed homes, another story unfolds in
Gaza, the story of women who see their bodies as the final frontlines of
resistance, who view childbirth not only as a biological act but a
political one. As written on the wall of the destroyed Al-Shifa Hospital:
“Every womb that gives birth here is a second birth certificate for
Palestine.”

In a world where fertility becomes a battlefront, embryos are treated as
spoils, and motherhood becomes a battle for existence, there is an urgent
need to shed light on this silent war: the war over wombs, embryos, and the
future itself. When the dust of war finally settles, one question will
remain: Who will be left to tell the story? And who will be born to hear it?
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