Gaza sees 260 congenital anomaly cases in nine months of 2026
A medical source says the figure already exceeds the 184 cases recorded in all of 2022, and calls for an international investigation.
Gaza recorded 260 cases of congenital anomalies among newborns in the first nine months of 2026, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Friday.
A medical source in the Gaza Strip said that figure already exceeds the 184 cases recorded across all of 2022.
The source said 322 cases were logged in 2025, a 75 percent rise compared with 2022.
The source cautioned that the case counts alone do not establish the rate of anomalies among newborns or identify their causes.
The medical source called for an independent international scientific investigation into possible causes, including maternal malnutrition, exposure to environmental pollutants and disruptions to prenatal care amid Israel's war on Gaza.
The reported conditions include cleft lip and palate, ambiguous external genitalia that make it hard to determine a newborn's sex at birth, shortened upper limbs and umbilical hernias, and a single child may have more than one anomaly.
Human Rights Watch published a report on Jan. 28, 2025, documenting serious health and humanitarian risks facing pregnant women in Gaza because of the war, the blockade, the destruction of healthcare facilities, and shortages of food, water and medicine.
Deteriorating maternal health services have increased the risk of complications, including hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia and infections, while shortages of incubators and medical supplies have threatened mothers, fetuses and newborns.
