From childbirth without anesthesia to improvised sanitary pads, women in Gaza describe survival among the collapse of medical care
BY FRANCESCA RAPISARDA
According to WAFA, the official state-run news agency of the Palestinian National Authority, the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israel’s war in October 2023 has reached 70,663, the majority of whom are women and children.
Healthcare has become one of the most urgent concerns for people living in Gaza. Access to hospitals, medications, and sanitary products have been severely restricted, if not entirely impossible, due to constant attacks and the collapse of medical infrastructure.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHR) reported that by late 2024, women in Gaza were three times more likely to die in childbirth and three times more likely to miscarry compared with pre-war levels, while newborn deaths have also significantly increased.
Dr. Ambereen Sleemi, a gynecologist who volunteered in Gaza, told OHCHR:
“As we did our rounds, bombs were going off in the background. Sometimes quadcopters would come in and try to shoot nurses or literally chase them through the hospital corridors.”
“Many women were simply too injured to survive. If their injuries did not claim their lives, then sepsis often did, as there were not enough medical supplies or antibiotics,” she added.
Darling Magazine reached out to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) who highlighted the ongoing struggles faced by women and children after more than 15 months of war on Gaza.
For safety and security reasons, anonymity has been used in this article to protect women still living in the Strip.
The collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system has been driven by severe shortages of medical supplies and equipment, particularly those needed for contraception, maternal health, and emergency care. These shortages have long undermined Palestinians’ rights to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
Samaher Said, MAP’s Protection Mainstreaming Officer, explained:
“Every woman in Gaza has been forced to be strong. But in reality, none of us have been spared from the toll of this war.”
One young mother, unable to access medical assistance due to telecommunications blackouts, was forced to give birth in the hallway of a school-turned-shelter, assisted only by other displaced women.
“She remained there with her newborn until morning, when she was transported to a hospital on a donkey cart in the freezing winter cold,” Samaher reported.
According to human rights watch, Israeli military forces have caused deaths and unnecessary suffering to Palestinian patients while occupying hospitals in Gaza; actions that amount to war crimes. The denial of water and electricity left sick and wounded people to die, while patients and healthcare workers were mistreated, forcibly displaced, and hospitals were damaged or destroyed.
Menstrual hygiene has emerged as another critical issue. In April 2024, UNFPA estimated that more than 690,000 menstruating women and adolescent girls faced severe shortages of hygiene products and lack access to clean and private facilities. Many women and girls resorted to desperate coping mechanisms, including using improvised cloths or sponges in place of sanitary pads.
Dr Afnan Inshassi, a general physician working with the Culture & Free Thought Association (CFTA), one of MAP’s partner organisations, said:
“Women were deprived of basic sexual and reproductive health services throughout the war. The conditions they endured were inhumane including lack of hygiene, no privacy, and little to no access to medical care. Even fundamental needs such as menstrual hygiene products were unavailable.”
One story that reflects both the devastation and the possibility of healing is Tala’s.
In October 2023, Tala was trapped beneath the rubble of an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza. Unable to move or be heard at first, she continued screaming until someone finally found her. As rescuers pulled her out, she lost consciousness and was transferred to a hospital in Beit Lahia, critically injured and unable to see.
“When I woke up, I tried to open my eyes but couldn’t see anything. I kept trying, but in vain,” she said.
Her brother, the only family member with her at the time, was forced to make an unimaginable decision: choosing which part of Tala’s body could be saved.
“I can’t choose between her eyes and her leg, both are indispensable,” he said.
In the end, he chose her eyes.
Tala underwent emergency surgery, which was successful. When she regained consciousness, she was told that her father and brother had been killed, while her mother had lost her left leg and her younger sister both of them.
“Only 130 people remained in the hospital. We had no food, water, or bread for days. The hospital was overcrowded, and there weren’t any doctors,” Tala recalled.
“There were snipers outside. The [Israeli military] tank suddenly bombed the gate, and soldiers stormed in with dogs and heavy equipment,” she added.
Tala was evacuated south to Deir al-Balah, while her mother and sister were sent abroad. During a later check-up, doctors discovered shrapnel still lodged in her leg.
“Without anesthesia, because there was none, the doctor cut into my leg to remove the shrapnel and stitched it back up. The pain was unbearable.”
After months of surgeries, Tala was still unable to walk and had no access to physiotherapy, until she learned about MAP.
MAP established its Solidarity Polyclinic in Deir al-Balah, where physiotherapist Dr. Nahla Musallam worked with Tala.
“Tala’s injuries were severe, and her leg-length discrepancy affected her posture and gait. Using entirely manual techniques, we focused on strengthening her muscles and correcting her posture. After 18 sessions, she regained her independence.”
Today, Tala can walk again.
Her case is one of countless attacks over the past 19 months that have killed thousands of Palestinians, including more than 16,200 children, and injured more than 118,000.
Liz Allcock, MAP’s Head of Humanitarian Protection, has worked in Gaza five times between July 2024 and August 2025, both in the north and the south. Her work focuses on addressing violence, abuse, and deprivation caused by conflict and displacement, while ensuring MAP’s services are delivered safely and with accountability.
She highlighted rising maternal mortality and miscarriages, alongside the lack of sexual and reproductive healthcare such as prenatal and postnatal care, emergency obstetric services, and contraception.
“Women with chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and breast cancer have little to no access to life-saving medication or follow-up care,” Allcock said.
She also noted increasing cases of urinary tract infections and transmissible skin diseases, as well as the lack of privacy in makeshift shelters.
“To avoid using unhygienic shared bathrooms, some women stop drinking water or eating. Others use cut-up flour sacks as sanitary pads or shave their hair due to a lack of hygiene products.”
These conditions have resulted in widespread trauma, depression, anxiety, and caregiver burden, compounded by grief, displacement, and constant exposure to violence.
“This often forces women into harmful coping mechanisms that negatively affect their health, safety, and wellbeing,” Allcock explained.
The lack of privacy has also increased the risk of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and abuse. Since October 2023, at least 89% of women-led organizations in Gaza have suffered significant physical damage to their premises. An attack on AISHA, a MAP partner organization, killed three people, including a staff member, a child, and a pregnant woman seeking services.
“There is a constant fear that the fragile so-called ‘ceasefire’ will collapse,” Allcock added.
The war has torn apart Gaza’s social fabric, disrupting families, increasing financial hardship, separating relatives, and exposing girls to early and forced marriage.
Several women shared their experiences:
“I had to eat canned food even though my doctor advised against it. I had no other choice.”
“There is no support for cancer patients during treatment, no food, no water. These things are small, but they matter.”
“I suffer from malnutrition because fresh food is unaffordable. My immunity is weak, but I can’t delay treatment.”
One woman, five months pregnant, had her biopsy delayed due to the war. Her cancer spread, leaving her unable to use her hand and care for her baby.
“I lost a part of myself. My dignity was taken from me.”
Another said:
“Before the war, I could at least shower in my own home. Now there is no privacy, no clean water, no rest.”
A mother who lost her son on his wedding day shared:
“I was waiting for him to wear his suit. Instead, he wore a shroud. I buried him with my own hands.”
The most recent case involved a woman and her two-year-old child who arrived at a clinic with acute watery diarrhea. Their tent was leaking, and the mother could not afford dry clothes.
“Gazan children are especially vulnerable during winter. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter without restriction,” Allcock emphasized.
When asked about the ceasefire, women and medical workers shared one common sentiment:
“It cannot remain just a headline that brings no change to people’s lives.”
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