Heartbreak Amidst Conflict: Families in Gaza Lose IVF Dreams to Ongoing Military Assaults

As the Israeli conflict continues to intensify in Gaza, many families face the heartbreaking loss of IVF embryos that were crucial to their hopes of starting or expanding their families. With fertility clinics destroyed, couples like Noura and Mohamed find their dreams of parenthood shattered, highlighting the profound human toll of war.

"My nerves are shattered," says Noura, a 26-year-old Palestinian woman, who feels she has "been left with nothing." After undergoing years of IVF treatment, she finally became pregnant in July 2023, filled with joy at the prospect of raising a family. Alongside her husband, Mohamed, they stored two additional embryos at Al-Basma Fertility Centre in Gaza City, nurturing hopes of having more children. "I thought my dream had finally come true," Noura recalls, only to be engulfed in despair as Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza following Hamas's attack on 7 October 2023, which resulted in significant casualties.

Trapped in a cycle of violence and displacement, the couple struggled to find the necessary resources for a healthy pregnancy. As Noura approached the end of her seventh month, a severe hemorrhage threatened her and her unborn twins. In a desperate attempt to reach medical aid, they were forced to transport her in a garbage truck. Despite their efforts, one twin arrived stillborn, while the other tragically died shortly after birth due to a lack of available incubators for premature infants.

The calamity deepened when they learned that the Al-Basma Fertility Centre had been targeted and systematically destroyed, resulting in the loss of nearly 4,000 frozen embryos. The clinic’s director, Dr. Baha Ghalayini, spoke with disbelief over the obliteration of dreams held by countless families, lamenting that between 100 and 150 women had potentially lost their only chance of motherhood. Many face age or health-related barriers that make future treatments impossible.

An independent commission by the United Nations previously accused Israel of intentionally targeting fertility clinics. In response, the Israeli government has categorically denied these allegations, asserting that its military operations comply with international law. However, the destruction of Al-Basma has become emblematic of a broader humanitarian crisis, as all nine fertility clinics in Gaza were either destroyed or left non-operational.

Noura and others now see their future as bleak, with little to no hope of continuing fertility treatments in a war-torn region. Sara Khudari, who had begun her journey towards motherhood in 2020, shared her sorrow at watching her plans come to ruin as the war escalated. Similarly, Islam Lubbad, who lost both her baby and frozen embryos, voiced frustration over the instability and exhaustion caused by constant relocation amidst the violence.

As families grapple with unimaginable loss and a erased future of parenthood, the ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to devastate aspirations for life and growth, leaving profound scars on the hearts of a generation.