A new Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry 2025 annual report on reproductive health states that the neonatal mortality rate (meaning deaths within the first 28 days after birth) in 2025 was 9.1/1,000 births. That appears in line with pre-war World Bank data for Gaza and the West Bank, well below the Arab world average, and slightly below the figures for nearby countries like Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. However, previous MOH reports place the neonatal mortality rate for Gaza in 2018-2022 at between 6-7/1,000 births. It's not clear what accounts for the discrepancy: the MOH and World bank metrics could be slightly different or the West Bank may simply exhibit higher rates of all of these negative reproductive health metrics (pulling the World Bank figure, which includes both, up). The second explanation is unlikely, however, since the West Bank outperforms Gaza on almost all metrics. Looking at MOH data alone, there is a clear increase in neonatal mortality between 2022 and 2025. In either case, neonatal mortality remains much higher than the rate in high-income countries, however, including Western countries, the Gulf monarchies, and Israel (2-3/1,000). 🧵