Noura, a 26-year-old Palestinian woman, expresses that her nerves are completely frayed,” adding that she feels “utterly destitute.
Following numerous rounds of IVF therapy, she achieved pregnancy in July 2023. She recalls feeling exuberant as she reminisces about the instant she spotted the positive result on the pregnancy test.
She and her spouse Mohamed chose to keep two additional embryos at the Al-Basma Fertility Centre in Gaza City, where they had previously succeeded in starting their family, with the intention of potentially expanding it further down the line.
She remarks, ‘I believed my dream had at last become reality. However, when the Israelis arrived, I felt deep down that everything was lost.’
In response to Hamas’s cross-border assault on 7 October 2023, where around 1,200 individuals lost their lives and an additional 251 were abducted, Israel initiated a military operation in Gaza.
So far, at least 54,000 individuals have lost their lives in Gaza, as reported by the region’s health authority.
Similar to many people from Gaza, Noura and Mohamed found themselves having to escape multiple times, making it impossible for her to obtain essential items such as food, vitamins, and medications necessary for a healthy pregnancy.
Mohamed states, “We would often walk for extended periods, continuously moving from one location to the next, surrounded by unpredictable and frightening explosions.”
Seven months into her pregnancy, Noura experienced a heavy bleeding episode.
He recounts, ‘She was losing blood rapidly, and we struggled to locate any means of transportation to get her to the hospital. Eventually, we had to use a garbage truck for her transfer.’
Upon our arrival, the miscarriage was already underway.
One twin was stillborn, and the other passed away just a few hours later. Mohamed explains that there weren’t any incubators for premature infants available at the time.
Noura states that everything vanished within a minute.
In addition to losing the twins, they have also lost their cryopreserved embryos.
Thousands of embryos destroyed
Dr. Baha Ghalayini, who leads the Al-Basma Fertility Centre, expresses his sadness and astonishment as he recounts how the facility was shelled in early December 2023.
He cannot specify an exact date or time and relies on this estimation from when a team member last observed the fertility center functioning.
Dr. Ghalayini states that the crucial section of the facility contained two tanks storing approximately 4,000 cryopreserved embryos along with over 1,000 specimens of both sperm and egg cells.
He states that the two damaged incubators, costing more than $10,000 each, were filled with liquid nitrogen that kept the samples intact.
They required frequent refills and “approximately two weeks prior to the shelling, the nitrogen started running low and evaporating.”
Dr. Mohamed Ajjour, the laboratory director who was relocated to southern Gaza, mentions that he managed to reach the nitrogen warehouse in Al-Nuseirat and obtained two tanks.
However, he states that the severity of the artillery fire stopped him from transporting them to the clinic, which is approximately 12 kilometers distant: “The facility was under attack, rendering the nitrogen ineffective.”
Dr. Ghalayani states that the center kept embryos for individuals undergoing treatment at various clinics, including their own. He mentions, “There are approximately 4,000 frozen embryos involved. This isn’t merely statistics; these represent people’s aspirations. Individuals who endured long waits and grueling procedures placed all their hope into those storage units, which were unfortunately obliterated.”
He believes that approximately 100 to 150 women missed out on their sole opportunity for parenthood since numerous factors prevent them from undergoing the process another time. “Many of these women are advancing in age, dealing with cancer, or coping with long-term health issues. Some were administered potent fertility drugs which can only be used once. Restarting this journey isn’t straightforward.”
When asked for their input, the Israel Defense Forces stated that they could provide a more comprehensive response if the “exact timing of the attack” were specified.
They mentioned that they “adhere to international law and implement measures to reduce potential harm to civilians.”
Earlier this year, in March, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory alleged that Israel deliberately targeted and demolished the Basema IVF clinic as part of an effort “to impede childbirths among Palestinians in Gaza.”
The claim was made that Israel obstructed assistance, such as essential medications needed for safe pregnancies, deliveries, and newborn care, from being delivered to women.
The commission further asserted that Israeli authorities “partially destroyed the Palestinian reproductive capability in Gaza as a group… which falls under one of the categories of genocidal acts.”
When the report was released, Israel’s permanent mission to the UN published a statement firmly rejecting these unfounded allegations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted with anger, denouncing the Human Rights Council — which initiated the report — as an “antisemitism-riddled, corrupt, and terror-sympathizing entity that holds no relevance.”
Rather than concentrating on the war crimes perpetrated by Hamas, he stated, they were targeting Israel with “fabricated allegations.”
A representative from the IDF stated to Arab media that they do not intentionally target fertility clinics and have no intention of hindering the birth rate among Gaza’s civilian populace.
The assertion that the IDF deliberately targets these locations is unfounded and shows a total misinterpretation of the objectives behind IDF activities in Gaza.
‘I watched everything collapse’
Dr. Ghalayani states that all nine of Gaza’s fertility clinics have either been demolished or can no longer function.
Noura points out that this situation gives her and numerous others minimal hope of ever conceiving a child. Individuals such as Sara Khudari, who initiated their fertility treatments in 2020, faced significant challenges. When the conflict started in October 2023, Sara was just about to have an embryo implanted. However, the process did not take place. “I witnessed everything fall apart,” she recounts.
And Islam Lubbad, whom Al-Basma Clinic assisted in conceiving in 2023, just prior to the outbreak of war. However, a month after the conflict began, she also experienced the loss of her child, similar to Noura. She recounts, “There was no stability; we were constantly moving around. My body felt completely drained,” as she recalls suffering a miscarriage.
Although Islam had additional frozen embryos preserved at Al-Basma Fertility Centre, these have since been lost. Furthermore, as all IVF clinics in operation have ceased functioning, she has no means left to attempt getting pregnant once more.
