'I'm scared for my unborn child': Gaza's pregnant women prepare to give birth in a war zone
- 8 months ago
#englishnews #gazapregnantwomen
News Article :-
Khulood Khaled was woken up by the sound of Israeli airstrikes as she slept next to her son last week. Black smoke filled the room, making it difficult for her to breathe. She felt a sense of panic setting in, followed by pain in her abdomen. She thought she was going into early labor.
Eight months pregnant and worried about her unborn child, the 28-year-old decided to leave her home in the al-Karama district of the northern Gaza Strip the next day as the bombing continued.
“We watched houses dropping as we drove, thinking we could die any minute,” she told CNN. On the way, she saw refugees being struck by Israeli jets “just meters away,” She hugged her son “so we’d die together.”
Khulood eventually made it to the southern city of Khan Younis, but she is now surviving on “a dry piece of bread,” as the territory faces a food shortage and no electricity or running water. “I don’t know if the bread will be available tomorrow,” she said.
Around 50,000 women in Gaza are pregnant, 10% of whom are expected to give birth in the coming month, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Those women face a “double nightmare” after a “horrifying week” of Israeli airstrikes, Dominic Allen, the UNFPA’s Representative for the State of Palestine, told CNN Sunday.
Gaza residents have faced Israeli airstrikes in several rounds of conflict over the past few years. But this time it’s different. Israel has vowed “mighty vengeance” after the Hamas militants that control the territory launched an attack on October 7, killing 1,400 in Israel.
Between October 7 and 12, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on the enclave – that’s equivalent to the total number of airstrikes on Gaza during the entire 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, which lasted 50 days. It now appears to be preparing for a ground operation into the enclave.
Israel has also imposed what it calls a “complete siege” on the territory, blocking supplies of water, electricity, goods and fuel. Human rights organizations have condemned the move as “collective punishment” and “a war crime.” Locals say that Khan Younis is still being targeted by Israeli strikes.
Many Gazans have heeded Israel’s call to evacuate from northern Gaza, with hundreds of thousands making their way south. But moving hasn’t been easy for everyone, including the sick, elderly and pregnant.
Some have been worried about the safety of the escape routes. CNN has geolocated and authenticated videos from the scene of a large explosion on Friday along a route to south.
Fear of what the future holds
Nardeen Fares is nine months pregnant with her first child. Following the call by the Israeli military for civilians to flee the 27-year-old traveled Friday with her husband from the al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City to Khan Younis – roughly 16 miles away or a 40-minute drive.
With her due date rapidly approaching, Fares says she fear
News Article :-
Khulood Khaled was woken up by the sound of Israeli airstrikes as she slept next to her son last week. Black smoke filled the room, making it difficult for her to breathe. She felt a sense of panic setting in, followed by pain in her abdomen. She thought she was going into early labor.
Eight months pregnant and worried about her unborn child, the 28-year-old decided to leave her home in the al-Karama district of the northern Gaza Strip the next day as the bombing continued.
“We watched houses dropping as we drove, thinking we could die any minute,” she told CNN. On the way, she saw refugees being struck by Israeli jets “just meters away,” She hugged her son “so we’d die together.”
Khulood eventually made it to the southern city of Khan Younis, but she is now surviving on “a dry piece of bread,” as the territory faces a food shortage and no electricity or running water. “I don’t know if the bread will be available tomorrow,” she said.
Around 50,000 women in Gaza are pregnant, 10% of whom are expected to give birth in the coming month, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Those women face a “double nightmare” after a “horrifying week” of Israeli airstrikes, Dominic Allen, the UNFPA’s Representative for the State of Palestine, told CNN Sunday.
Gaza residents have faced Israeli airstrikes in several rounds of conflict over the past few years. But this time it’s different. Israel has vowed “mighty vengeance” after the Hamas militants that control the territory launched an attack on October 7, killing 1,400 in Israel.
Between October 7 and 12, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on the enclave – that’s equivalent to the total number of airstrikes on Gaza during the entire 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, which lasted 50 days. It now appears to be preparing for a ground operation into the enclave.
Israel has also imposed what it calls a “complete siege” on the territory, blocking supplies of water, electricity, goods and fuel. Human rights organizations have condemned the move as “collective punishment” and “a war crime.” Locals say that Khan Younis is still being targeted by Israeli strikes.
Many Gazans have heeded Israel’s call to evacuate from northern Gaza, with hundreds of thousands making their way south. But moving hasn’t been easy for everyone, including the sick, elderly and pregnant.
Some have been worried about the safety of the escape routes. CNN has geolocated and authenticated videos from the scene of a large explosion on Friday along a route to south.
Fear of what the future holds
Nardeen Fares is nine months pregnant with her first child. Following the call by the Israeli military for civilians to flee the 27-year-old traveled Friday with her husband from the al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City to Khan Younis – roughly 16 miles away or a 40-minute drive.
With her due date rapidly approaching, Fares says she fear