"Israel's" war on parenthood destroys thousands of embryos in Gaza: Report

The BBC investigated the destruction of Gaza’s fertility infrastructure through firsthand interviews with affected families, medical professionals, and humanitarian experts.

For 26-year-old Noura, the dream of motherhood ended in heartbreak amid "Israel’s" ongoing military offensive on Gaza. After enduring years of IVF treatments, she finally became pregnant in July 2023.

“I was overjoyed,” she recalled. She and her husband Mohamed, had even stored two additional embryos at Al-Basma Fertility Centre, hoping to expand their family in the future.

But war upended their lives. When the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) intensified their bombardment of Gaza, Noura’s pregnancy was thrown into crisis.

“I thought my dream had finally come true,” she said. “But the day the Israelis came in, something in me said it was all over.”

Forced to flee multiple times, the couple struggled to access even basic nutrition, let alone the medications and vitamins essential for a healthy pregnancy. “We used to walk for long hours and move constantly from one place to another, amid terrifying random bombings,” Mohamed recounted.

Seven months into her pregnancy, Noura suffered a severe hemorrhage. With no ambulance available, Mohamed transported her to a hospital in a garbage truck. By the time they arrived, one twin had already died. The other passed away shortly after birth due to the lack of incubators. “Everything was gone in a minute,” Noura said.

Their stored embryos were lost too.

Dr. Baha Ghalayini, director of Al-Basma, spoke somberly about the destruction of the clinic, which he estimates was shelled in early December 2023. The attack destroyed two liquid nitrogen tanks used to store nearly 4,000 frozen embryos and over 1,000 sperm and egg samples.

“These are not just numbers, they’re people’s dreams,” he said. “People who waited years, went through painful treatments, and pinned their hopes on these tanks that were ultimately destroyed.”

Dr. Mohamed Ajjour, the lab director who was displaced to southern Gaza, managed to retrieve fresh nitrogen from a warehouse in Al-Nuseirat, but heavy shelling made it impossible to deliver the tanks. “The center was shelled and the nitrogen became useless,” he explained.

According to Dr. Ghalayini, between 100 and 150 women likely lost their only shot at motherhood. Many of them, he said, suffer from chronic illnesses, are cancer patients, or are beyond the typical age for fertility treatments.

Noura is not alone. Sara Khudari was preparing for an embryo transfer when the war began. Her procedure never happened. “I watched everything collapse,” she said.

Another woman, Islam Lubbad, conceived through IVF in early 2023. But constant displacement and physical exhaustion caused her to miscarry a month into the war. Like Noura, her remaining frozen embryos were stored at Al-Basma and are now gone. “There was no stability. We kept relocating. My body was exhausted,” she said.

Dr. Ghalayini confirmed that none of Gaza’s nine fertility clinics are currently operational—either destroyed or shut down by war.

In March, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry accused the Israeli Occupation of intentionally targeting Al-Basma, describing it as part of a broader effort “to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza”—a claim the "Israeli" government has forcefully denied.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the UN body behind the report as “antisemitic” and “terrorist-supporting,” while "Israel’s" UN mission called the accusations “baseless.”

Still, for Noura and many others, the loss is deeply personal and irreversible. “My nerves are shattered,” she said. “I’ve been left with nothing.”