Reproductive violence, this needs to stop

[GiantBranch]

“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 conflict on pregnant women, babies and maternity care reveal.
Two reports by Physicians for Human Rights, in collaboration with the Global Human Rights Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel (PHRI) document how the war has led to high figures for maternal and neonatal mortality and forced births in dangerous conditions and systematically dismantled health services – consequences of “a deliberate intention of preventing births among Palestinians, meeting the legal criteria of the genocide convention,” researchers said.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/14/gaza-war-fall-in-births-reproductive-violence

Plus my post was in response to the assertion by @GiantBranch that valid criticism of the Israel government does not equal antisemitism.

We have now a board set up for the governance and reconstruction of Gaza and still people are fixated with this war. Now that there is minimal military action papers like the Guardian are going to pour over other facets of post conflict Gaza to try and keep alive the genocide narrative so many want to preserve.

The idea of naming all miscarriages and neonatal death on Israel is wrong as childbirth is dangerous unfortunately at the best of times and having had a war (which Gaza started) of course there may be a disruption in maternity services. The idea of taking a subject such as this and pushing it when , as others have said, you do not do similar articles on Somalia, Sudan etc. is simply a pattern of pushing a narrative that Israel is a blood thirsty genocide regime which is wrong.

I mean yes in a war I wouldn’t be reproducing, I imagine the same is true of Ukrainian women?

I remember after the ceasefire Hamas had been stockpiling for formula Gazans were pretty pissed off when they found out. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib talked about it on twitter. I also have a friend with family in Gaza who is furious with stockpiling and price gouging (also obviously angry with Israel). This isn’t simple, where there are supplies Hamas affiliated people have often had control of it and use it as a tool of control. It’s miserable.

Also would point out that cosuin marriage is extremely common in Gaza, you have a population which will have higher healthcare needs than expected. So it’s not surprising that being in a war zone specialist intervention will to obtain. It’ll be the same in Sudan, Ukraine etc etc. This is not specific to Gaza or somehow the only time in history this has happened. I find it odd as an attack line against Israel because most normal people would say “thats tragic, but yes of course, this is what happens during pretty much every conflict, it doesn’t demonstrate that Israel is uniquely evil or doing it on purpose”.

Clearly an attempt to demonstrate genocide but it’s a bit of a stretch.

It's a pity the Israeli government facilitated support of all kinds for Hamas for decades, in order to undermine and divide the Palestinian movement for freedom. Divide and conquer is a classic tactic of occupying governments. Sometimes it backfires.

You have to look at the bigger picture and look at the long term number of births per woman in Gaza. For a stable population this should be about 2 not 3/4. One thing that has not been mentioned here is the amount of agency women have in Gaza about child bearing and to what extent it is men that determine family size. There are probably many births in Gaza currently where the woman would have preferred to contemplate increasing their family size in safer conditions but there has been a man demanding sex. (A lot of Palestinian male attitude to women was revealed on October 7th).

Stories like these and the way they are edited are just part of a collective effort to keep the genocide narrative alive as part of a propaganda campaign aimed at the king anti Israel/Jew sentiment globally.

There are multiple threads on Iran, also a very shocking situation. Ireland has refused to take the new ambassador's accreditation in protest. There are many appalling human rights abusing states in the world. Sadly Israel is one, the big difference is that it is funded and armed by the west. That's why it attracts such attention, if we sanction it as we should do, and do for other states. then we can start treating it like the other rogue states you often point to whenever some one criticises Israel.

There are massive differences between the democratic free Israel and the repressive tyranny of Iran. Israel is a UK ally in the region and a lot of the hate directed towards it seems from the fact it is a non Muslim country in the middle East that is democratic and successful. The surrounding nations are characterised by tyranny and repression including the removal of female rights at every level.

Pardon those that don't entertain the excessive focus on Gaza to propagate a campaign to in reality remove Israel as a state of to undermine it politically.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-53220713
This is happening still and yet we don't have virtue signalling Guardian journalists pursuing this currently. No jews no news.

Again we question those that I my have compassion for only those who are enemies of one state.

Israel is characterised by tyranny and repression also

I posted two articles the Guardian published about other war zones and the same topic earlier.
The Guardian posted multiple articles in 2022/1 about the same topic.

So perhaps the sound bite of "virtue signaller" is once again overused here . I know it would suit the agenda of many if Gaza was just taken off the news rotation so Israel could just commit their crimes without attention .

You do know two wrongs don’t make a right. The difference here is that our governments do not support this. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on China to "immediately end these horrific practices".

The point is that there seems to be little sympathy for women s rights generally in the middle East but when a war with Israel occurs there is a rush of sympathy for those women that have probably had to endure years of oppression unheard.

This is BS. The US funds the iron dome which is essential to protect Israel's neighbours, notably Iran whose primary foreign policy aim is to commit the genocide of the Jewish people. Other than that relatively small numbers of arms are sold not given to Israel by some western countries. Israel is an arms exporter and moving rapidly towards self sufficiency. 'The West' provides far more arms to Saudi & other ME countries. Countries compkicit in a range of grotesque human rughts abuses. Where are the threads?

There are not multiple threads on Iran. There are a few.

Are you seriously comparing Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East with the Islamic Republic, one of the most barbaric regimes in the world?

Two wrongs don't make a right. In most parts of the Middle East women are oppressed and discriminated against. That is not a reason for us to look away when a country blocks a mobile maternity unit, maternity packs and doctors from entering another country in an effort to support women at their most vulnerable time.

Both things can be criticized .

Exactly this. The UK government and its European counterparts have vocally condemned the witholding of aid but words are meaningless without taking actual steps to ensure that Israel complies with international law.

Absolutely this. Strange that there are still only a handful of threads and generally not many comments on Iran on this board (despite the Iranian government slaughtering thousands of their own people in a matter of days for simply demanding freedom).

What an awful lot of whataboutery, again is it not possible just to agree the situation for pregnant women in Gaza is appalling and measures need to be taken to address it?

are you seriously suggesting no one should pay attention to a situation where maternity and neonatal care is being seriously and deliberately impeded. ?
where purpose built maternity units are blocked from entry left languishing deliberately at a border while women struggle ?
where aid agencies that support women are banned.
where close to a million pre made formula bottles were denied entry while babies starved?
I can understand why the Israeli government would want people to shut up about this situation but to the recent posters on this thread why do you want people not to highlight this?

For the record and to address the weird insinuations love to see the fall of any theocratic regime, they generally treat women like shit too

Yes this. Thank you for the thread. The whataboutery, minimising and denial is depressing. Once again posters showing their irritation that the situation dare be raised. Don't worry guys it is hidden away in the CITME section.

One of the main reasons for the protests in Iran is due to the severe economic sanctions on Iran and the impact this has has on the everyday life on Iranians, so yes sanctions do work. The main reason I'm not joining the threads on here on Iran is not because I don't care or I'm not discussing it I just have no desire to discuss it with certain posters on these threads.

MSF’s recent statement on the situation makes interesting reading this stood out

“if the descriptions of what its teams see with their own eyes in Gaza are unpalatable to some, "the fault lies with those committing these atrocities, not with those who speak of them."

https://www.msf.org/israels-threat-withhold-registration-ngos-grave-blow-humanitarian-aid-gaza-and-west-bank

Hear hear. The lack of historical insight and sociological imagination on this board is absolutely staggering. It's no good, though. People see right through it and I think all but the hardcore are moving on. The student omnicausers are already getting bored.

? Please advise of the sociological imagination and historical insight needed to understand the deliberate withholding of medical aid from pregnant women and formula from malnourished babies??

When people come on threads that point out valid criticism of the Israeli govt and point out heinous acts, with responses like this, that's whataboutery.

have some people got nothing better to do than trying to shut down legitimate criticism of heinous acts with deflection, propaganda and whataboutery?

it's just sad and depressing and entirely predictable.

Could you explain what we are missing please?