Between siege and survival: The unheard struggles of mothers in the West Bank

THE WEST BANK, Occupied Palestinian Territory – “I suffered from postpartum fever, but reaching the hospital was nearly impossible because of the siege on medical services,” said 26-year-old Sara*, from the Nur Shams refugee camp near the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. 

She gave birth a little over two months ago, just as the Israeli forces began renewed and intense incursions into multiple areas of the West Bank, where pregnant women and new mothers grapple daily with displacement and the denial of healthcare. 

“I couldn't even go back to the clinic after giving birth to check on my son.” 

The World Health Organization has reported more than 720 attacks on health facilities in the West Bank since October 2023. These attacks, together with movement restrictions and checkpoint closures, can cause life-threatening delays for some 73,000 pregnant women and endanger the lives of newborns. 

The stress took a heavy toll on Layla*, 35, who was displaced from her home in the Tulkarm refugee camp. “I developed high blood pressure and gestational diabetes, but I couldn’t reach a clinic for treatment,” she told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, which ensured both mother and newborn received a full medical examination. 

“I couldn't even go back [to the clinic] after giving birth to check on my son. Also, there isn’t any food so I wasn’t producing enough milk, making it hard to breastfeed.” 

Since the start of 2025, over 40,000 people have been displaced in the West Bank, mostly from refugee camps. Access to essential services, including healthcare, has become increasingly scarce. 

Together with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society, UNFPA supports five mobile health clinics to help women and girls access primary healthcare and sexual and reproductive health services, including antenatal and postnatal care, family planning, and psychosocial support. The mobile clinics are often the only way to reach women affected by movement restrictions, those living in remote areas, and many who can't afford transportation costs to health centres. 

Healthcare under attack

Nour*, 36, from a camp in Jenin, was on her way to see a doctor for a check-up when a bomb hit the street. “I heard loud noises and saw people fleeing – I couldn’t return home to reach my children. I witnessed horrific scenes,” she told UNFPA. 

Suddenly, she too was doubled over in agony. “I felt severe pain in my abdomen, back, and all over my body. ” Due to the lack of healthcare access and chaos, she was unable to visit a doctor or find a clinic. In the midst of the panic, gradually the horror dawned on her. “I realized I had lost my baby.”

For women like Rana*, 28, who was seven months pregnant and also forced to leave the Tulkarm refugee camp, the struggle was becoming unbearable. “I’m mentally exhausted from worrying how I will give birth and reach the hospital if it continues like this,” she said. 

“I realized I had lost my baby.”

“I haven't received any healthcare for a month, nor have I visited a doctor because I couldn’t get there. My medications have run out, and I couldn’t afford to buy more

A daily struggle to survive 

The ongoing violence and obstruction of healthcare have led thousands of women to face potentially life-threatening delays in accessing services. At five months pregnant, 27-year-old Dina* was forced into some dangerous choices. “We left our home when the camp was invaded – we were terrified by the random shooting at residents,” she said. 

Her family of ten were moved from overcrowded shelter to shelter, but without documentation or a stable home, it was nearly impossible for the young mother to get the healthcare she needed. She sought help from a counsellor at a safe space supported by UNFPA – one of six providing this assistance alongside reproductive healthcare – and was referred to a clinic for further pregnancy check-ups. 

UNFPA supports hospitals and clinics across the West Bank with medical supplies, equipment and medicine, including for obstetric emergencies and Caesarean sections. So far, 26 midwives have also been equipped and recruited to support safe deliveries at emergency health centres, in an effort to ensure some continuity of essential maternal health services.

To continue these critical services, UNFPA needs $99.2 million in funding for 2025, but as of April just over $13 million has been received.