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Gaza’s unseen casualties: A surge in stillbirths and birth defects

Al Jazeera · 🇶🇦 public Qatar · · 546 words · By Ibrahim al-Khalili
Humanitarian Crisis War Crimes Allegations Public Health Collapse
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What to know about Humanitarian Crisis

Gaza’s unseen casualties: A surge in stillbirths and birth defects As the impacts of war linger, Gaza is witnessing an unprecedented rise in congenital anomalies and a 140 percent increase in stillbirths.

Claims checked 7
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left17%
Center83%
Right0%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Gaza’s unseen casualties: A surge in stillbirths and birth defects As the impacts of war linger, Gaza is witnessing an unprecedented rise in congenital anomalies and a 140 percent increase in stillbirths.

Why it matters

Gaza – In a neonatal unit at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, newborn babies are fighting for their lives against severe congenital anomalies linked to the harsh conditions of Israel’s genocidal war.

Common ground

Two-month-old Osama was born with a hole in his heart and enlarged ventricles in his brain.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Causal Oversimplification, Appeal to Pity: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/22/gazas-unseen-casualties-a-surge-in-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 100% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Causal Oversimplification 70% confidence
Assuming a single cause for a complex issue.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing causal oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Pity 90% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to pity helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 7 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
verified Verified By Reference 1
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Claim 1: “According to the Ministry of Health, cases of congenital anomalies doubled in 2025 compared with 2022.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that congenital anomalies doubled in 2025 compared with 2022 is explicitly stated in Al Jazeera's reporting and other web search results citing the Ministry of Health.
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web search NEUTRAL — Genetic causes can be traced to inherited genes or from mutations. Consanguinity – when parents are related by blood – increases the risk of congenital anomalies and nearly doubles the risk of neonata…
https://www.who.int/health-topics/congenital-anomalies
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web search NEUTRAL — The Palestinian Ministry of Health counts deaths based on people brought to hospitals or officially recorded. The true number is unknown and is likely much higher because the official death toll does …
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/7/two-years-of-israel…
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web search NEUTRAL — This case highlights the importance of sequential segmental analysis and advanced imaging in the differentiation of rare congenital anomalies, which is essential for accurate diagnosis, management, an…
https://ajhealth.org/index.php/pub/article/view/87
verified
Claim 2: “Despite a “ceasefire” taking effect last October, the death toll continues to rise”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and The Guardian both confirm a ceasefire took effect in October (2025 based on the provided live evidence) and that the death toll continued to rise due to sporadic attacks and body recovery.
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web search NEUTRAL — See also: Effect of the Gaza war on children in the Gaza Strip § Casualties.On 23 March 2025, after two months of collecting bodies during the ceasefire, the Gaza health ministry published a third doc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Gaza_war
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web search NEUTRAL — Health officials in the Gaza Strip say more than 730 people have been killed in strikes by Israeli forces in the six months since a ceasefire took effect in October last year.The Israeli military has …
https://mdn.gov.mm/en/death-toll-gaza-strip-exceeds-730-6-mo…
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web search NEUTRAL — The attack brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israel to 401 since the October ceasefire took effect. Israeli troops fired over the ceasefire line which they have withdrawn to, killing the Pal…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/20/israeli-troops…
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Claim 3: “The rate of stillbirths also surged by 140 percent during the same period.”
CORROBORATED
The 140 percent surge in stillbirths is reported by Al Jazeera and other web search results as part of the same data set regarding the period between 2022 and 2025.
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web search NEUTRAL — The rate of stillbirths also surged by 140 percent during the same period. Last year alone, there were 457 neonatal deaths, marking a 50 percent increase from before the war.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/22/gazas-unseen-ca…
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web search NEUTRAL — Doctors at a Gaza hospital say a growing number of women have suffered pregnancy losses or complications, and there has been a rise in stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospital-stillbirths…
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web search NEUTRAL — For months, Israeli soldiers in Gaza have been documenting their own war crimes against Palestinians and sharing them on social media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAT9NQ4WkE0
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Claim 4: “At the height of the Israeli bombardment, live births in the Strip plummeted by more than 30 percent.”
CORROBORATED
One source reports a 41% fall in births, which supports the claim that births 'plummeted by more than 30 percent'.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Israeli Air Force conducted numerous concerted aerial bombardment campaigns on the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war until the enactment of a ceasefire in October 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_bombing_of_the_Gaza_St…
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web search NEUTRAL — For months, Israeli soldiers in Gaza have been documenting their own war crimes against Palestinians and sharing them on social media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAT9NQ4WkE0
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web search NEUTRAL — Israel’s war in Gaza has led to a 41% fall in births in the territory and high numbers of maternal deaths, miscarriages, newborn mortality and premature births, two reports on the impact of the confli…
https://israelpalestinenews.org/41-drop-in-gaza-births-may-b…
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Claim 5: “Last year alone, there were 457 neonatal deaths, marking a 50 percent increase from before the war.”
CORROBORATED
The specific figure of 457 neonatal deaths and the 50 percent increase from pre-war levels are consistently reported across multiple web search results.
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web search NEUTRAL — The rate of stillbirths also surged by 140 percent during the same period. Last year alone, there were 457 neonatal deaths, marking a 50 percent increase from before the war.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/22/gazas-unseen-ca…
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web search NEUTRAL — By late 2024, women in Gaza were three times more likely to die in childbirth and three times more likely to miscarry compared with pre-war levels, while newborn deaths also increased, OHCHR reported.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166569
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web search NEUTRAL — According to the Ministry of Health, cases of congenital anomalies doubled in 2025 compared with 2022. The rate of stillbirths also surged by 140 percent during the same period. Last year alone, there…
https://israelpalestinenews.org/gaza-defects-baby/
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Claim 6: “Gaza is witnessing an unprecedented rise in congenital anomalies and a 140 percent increase in stillbirths.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources, including Al Jazeera and another report mentioned in web search, explicitly state there is an unprecedented rise in congenital anomalies and a 140 percent increase in stillbirths.
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web search NEUTRAL — As the impacts of war linger, Gaza is witnessing an unprecedented rise in congenital anomalies and a 140 percent increase in stillbirths.
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/4/22/gazas-unseen-ca…
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web search NEUTRAL — There has been an unprecedented rise in congenital ‘anomalies’, a 140 percent rise in stillbirths, and at the Nasser hospital in Gaza, a 41 percent fall in births, along with maternal deaths.
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-gaza-genocide-when-th…
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web search NEUTRAL — Doctors at a Gaza hospital say a growing number of women have suffered pregnancy losses or complications, and there has been a rise in stillbirths and neonatal deaths.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospital-stillbirths…
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Claim 7: “Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 20,000 children.”
CORROBORATED
Save the Children is cited by both CBS News and another web source stating that at least 20,000 children have been killed. Wikipedia also documents the disproportionate effect on children.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war. It encompasses mass killings, deliberat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_genocide
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian mi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when about 200,000 of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza–Israel_conflict
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.