Gaza records more birth defects in nine months than in all of 2022, Wafa reports

The number of birth defects recorded among newborns in Gaza during the first nine months of 2026 has exceeded the total reported for the whole of 2022, the year before Israel’s war on the territory began, the Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported.

A medical source in Gaza told Wafa that 260 cases were recorded between January and September, compared with 184 cases in all of 2022.

The source said 322 cases were recorded in 2025, a 75 percent increase on the 2022 figure.

Possible contributing factors include maternal malnutrition, exposure to environmental pollutants and disruptions to prenatal care during the war, the source said, calling for an independent international scientific investigation.