AP PHOTOS: A pregnant woman under Israel's blockade in Gaza fears for her baby

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KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip has made pregnancy and childbirth more dangerous for Palestinian women and their babies. It’s become worse since Israel seven weeks ago cut off food, medicine and supplies for the territory’s more than 2 million people.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, up to 20% of Gaza’s estimated 55,000 pregnant women are malnourished, and half face high-risk pregnancies. In February and March, at least 20% of newborns were born prematurely or suffering from complications or malnutrition.

Comprehensive records of miscarriages and stillbirths can’t be obtained. But records at one hospital show miscarriages in January and February were double the same period in 2023.

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