As the Israeli occupation forces continued their airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, a baby girl, Malak Ahmed Al-Qanou, was born "without a brain" at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza.

Medical sources said that the two-day-old baby, Al-Qanou, is one of the "shocking cases of fetal deformities in the womb," suggesting that the cause is likely radiation from the bombardment with weapons that Israel, the occupying power, is testing in the Gaza Strip against civilians and children.

Videos and photos documenting the condition of the little girl, Al-Qanou, who appeared to have a head without a brain, with her skull extending only above her eyes.

This case comes amid a significant increase in the phenomenon of "fetal deformities" in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources.

Throughout the months of genocide, doctors and human rights reports warned of the dangers posed to pregnant women in Gaza by exposure to toxic gases emitted by Israeli shells and missiles, fearing fetal deformities.

The sources indicated that "what is happening in Gaza brings to mind what was documented in Iraq after the invasion, where rates of birth defects increased due to pollution and radiation resulting from the bombing," calling for an international investigation "into the causes of these recurring cases of fetal deformities and the nature of the weapons used."

Residents of the Gaza Strip recently reported noticing a change in the sounds of explosions caused by the relentless Israeli bombardment, indicating the use of new weapons. This confirms the occupation's use of internationally prohibited weapons during the war of extermination it has been waging since October 7, 2023.

On January 28, 2025, a Human Rights Watch report stated that pregnant women in Gaza are at risk due to Israel's ongoing genocide.

She added, "Israel imposes conditions that threaten pregnancy, childbirth, and the lives of newborns in Gaza."

In its report, the human rights organization highlighted Israel's deliberate targeting of the health sector, undermining pregnant women and newborns' access to necessary healthcare, without addressing the issue of fetal deformities.

In this context, the organization stated that maternal health experts reported last July that the rate of spontaneous abortions had reached 300 percent since October 7, 2023.

On February 12, 2024, Jordanian pediatric surgeon Bilal al-Azzam, who was part of an American-European medical delegation that visited the Gaza Strip between January 19 and February 5, told the Turkish Anadolu Agency that they were treating cases of congenital malformations arriving at hospitals during the war.

Earlier on Friday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that children in the Gaza Strip face an increasing risk of hunger, disease, and death.

This came in a statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, highlighting the situation of children in the Gaza Strip after two months of Israeli blockade and the denial of humanitarian aid.

Russell reiterated her call for the protection of children, the lifting of the siege on Gaza, and the allowing of commercial goods to enter.