hoda sherif@hodassherif
On Gaza’s Hidden Epidemic of Male Infertility for @newlinesmag, my project is finally out in the world. A two-year investigation into the reproductive aftershocks of American-made bombs on Palestinian men.
The story follows Saeed and his decade-long pursuit for fatherhood amid mounting debt, repeated bombardment, blockaded IVF clinics, and the acutely distressing burdens of masculine shame and social stigma. A predicament borne by thousands of men confronting the far-reaching reproductive consequences of life under Israel's siege.
Since Israel’s assaults have razed much of Gaza’s IVF infrastructure (a total of nine IVF labs), medical statistics hardly exist. Anecdotal evidence, already rarely heard outside the bedroom, is also in short supply.
The Israeli military has long depressed community birth rates across Gaza while converting a heavily subsidized reproductive *entitlement* in Israel (IVF) into a punishing war of exhaustion for Palestinians struggling with infertility.
Embryos, medications, culture media and the specialized laboratory equipment upon which Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) depends move at the mercy of Israel's illegal twenty-year blockade.
Across the iron wall and for Israeli citizens, reproduction isn’t an extractive gamble, but an exceptionally generous state project involving multiple, state-subsidized treatment cycles and support. It is an engine of continuity and a national priority shaped by Israel's demographic anxieties.
Please read about the deranged courage, hope and unimaginable costs required to pursue fatherhood under siege.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/gaza…