Thread by @holy_twig3

Women of Gaza Between the Labor of Life and the Labor of Death

By: Firas Saleh
(1/14)

Under Gaza’s sky, where the smoke of bombs and the roar of warplanes mix with the cries of newborns, women carry the miracle of life in their wombs while death encircles them.
In the heart of the humanitarian catastrophe ravaging the Gaza Strip, an unparalleled story of
(2/14)

steadfastness unfolds, the story of the Palestinian woman who faces the horrors of war with a heart that beats with life and eyes fixed on her children’s future.
It is the tale of women struggling between the labor of life and the labor of death, carrying hope in their
(3/14)

wombs, nursing their children on patience, while every component of life around them collapses.
Amid relentless bombardment, a suffocating siege, and a lack of everything necessary to survive, every passing moment becomes a new battle for these women, another challenge
(4/14)

added to a long, unending list.
In the Gaza Strip, childbirth has become a battle and breastfeeding a daily epic. Motherhood turns into a journey of torment. Pregnancy in normal conditions is a journey full of challenges and hopes, but in Gaza it becomes a real nightmare.
(5/14)

According to UNICEF reports, there are more than 17,000 pregnant women on the brink of famine, while 11,000 pregnant women live in famine-like conditions.
This bitter reality negatively affects the health of the mother and fetus. Malnutrition and constant anxiety
(6/14)

exacerbate health conditions, increasing the risks of miscarriage, premature birth, and deaths during delivery.
The scarcity of prenatal and postnatal care and the destruction of medical infrastructure deepen this tragedy. Out of 36 hospitals in the Strip, only 16 are
(7/14)

partially functioning, three of which are on the verge of closure.
In a heartbreaking scene, three newborns are forced to share a single incubator at Nasser Hospital, while miscarriage rates and congenital heart defects among newborns rise alarmingly.
These numbers are
(8/14)

not mere statistics, but painful human stories and a stain of shame on humanity’s conscience.
The suffering of the Palestinian woman in Gaza does not end at pregnancy and childbirth. It extends to the challenges of breastfeeding and caring for newborns amid the
(9/14)

harsh conditions of war.
Malnutrition and psychological pressure on mothers directly affect their ability to breastfeed, depriving newborns of the essential nutrition they need for growth and development.
With the shortage of infant formula, 135,000 children under the
(10/14)

age of two face the risk of acute malnutrition, which directly threatens their lives.
Scenes of children dying slowly from hunger and malnutrition have become a painful reality, without stirring the consciences of a complicit world.
The suffering of Gaza’s women,
(11/14)

especially pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, is a resounding cry to the whole world. It is an urgent call for an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians, and the unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid. Humanity cannot stand idly by in the face of this
(12/14)

tragedy whose chapters unfold every day.
This bitter reality requires serious action by the international community to save mothers and children in Gaza and provide them the right to a dignified life and the necessary health care.
(13/14)

The steadfastness of the Palestinian woman and her ability to continue caring for her children despite all circumstances is proof that hope does not die as long as there are hearts that still beat with life, in the hell of war and destruction.
(14/14)