The British charity Oxfam said on Thursday that the number of premature births rose by about a third over the past month in the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel, with mothers suffering from increasing pressure and trauma.

Dozens of premature babies made headlines this week when they were rescued from a hospital in northern Gaza and transported to Egypt after the site was bombed.

The densely populated northern part of the Strip has borne the brunt of the six-week-long Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, and none of its hospitals are operating normally.

Jazor, an Oxfam partner organization that supports hundreds of pregnant women in Gaza, said that the number of premature births rose by 25-30% in the past month, and attributed this increase to the difficulties faced by mothers who were forced to flee their homes due to bombing and are suffering from stress and trauma.

Premature babies are more vulnerable to disease, and Jazour said that at least one newborn died in each of its 13 shelters for displaced people in northern Gaza over the past month.

Even before the current conflict, infant mortality was high in Gaza, with newborn deaths accounting for 68% of the total, according to the World Health Organization.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's Middle East regional director, said some displaced mothers had to give birth in crowded classrooms, without medical support or basic hygiene.

“I don’t think there is anyone anywhere in the world who disagrees with this inhumane thing,” she said.