Devastation of IVF Dreams: Women in Gaza Face Heartbreak Amid Conflict

Sat Oct 18 2025 17:28:56 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The ongoing Gaza conflict has left many women, including Noura and Islam, devastated after losing their frozen embryos and pregnancy hopes due to destruction and destruction.

The war in Gaza has resulted in the tragic loss of IVF embryos for numerous women who dreamed of motherhood. Noura, who had recently become pregnant, now faces heartbreak after her frozen embryos were destroyed during shelling. Meanwhile, women like Islam have also experienced the loss of their pregnancies and future fertility options due to the ongoing conflict, leaving them with little hope for children in the future.

Noura, a 26-year-old Palestinian woman, is crushed after losing her dreams of motherhood in the ongoing Gaza conflict. Just months after becoming pregnant through IVF, Noura and her husband, Mohamed, faced the destruction of their viable embryos stored at Al-Basma Fertility Centre amidst the violence. "I was overjoyed," she recalls of her positive pregnancy test taken in July 2023, only to soon be confronted by the chaos of war.

The Israeli military launched its offensive on Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, resulting in devastating casualties. In the ensuing turmoil, Noura—along with many other families—struggled to find food and medical care, essential for her pregnancy. Tragically, she suffered a severe hemorrhage and, despite efforts to reach medical help by vehicle, gave birth to stillborn twins.

The catastrophe hit hardest when Noura learned that the fertility clinic she depended on was shelled, destroying the tanks that housed nearly 4,000 frozen embryos, which represented the hopes of countless families. Dr. Baha Ghalayini, the clinic's director, expressed deep sorrow over the loss, estimating that the destruction affected between 100 and 150 women, many of whom faced significant health challenges that make future IVF treatments unattainable.

Despite the Israeli Defense Forces' statements asserting they operate under international law and that specific targeting of such facilities is denied, the destruction of Al-Basma Fertility Centre has drawn condemnation. A UN commission accused Israel of deliberately damaging medical resources that contribute to reproductive health in Gaza, characterizing the actions as potentially genocidal.

The closure of all fertility clinics in the region, coupled with the loss of embryos and pregnancies, leaves many women like Noura and Islam hopeless. They represent a broader community of women who dreamt of motherhood only to have those dreams shattered in the ongoing violence, facing a stark and uncertain future without access to reproductive support. The impact of the conflict continues to resonate, leaving a painful legacy.