Israel's Baby Boom: Birth rates surge despite war and hardship 

A report from the Knesset Research and Information Center, obtained by Ynet, highlights a notable rise in births between August and October 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. In September 2024, 15,968 births were recorded, a 7% increase from the 14,878 births reported in September 2023.

The report indicates that more than 80% of women in Israel typically give birth between weeks 37 and 40 of pregnancy, suggesting that most of the women who gave birth during these months likely conceived between November 2023 and January 2024, shortly after the outbreak of war.

The study, compiled at the request of Knesset Member Pnina Tamano-Shata (National Unity Party) and chair of the Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, focuses solely on Israeli women and does not include births by foreign nationals or Palestinian women giving birth in Israel.

This surge in births is particularly significant against the backdrop of a declining birth rate from 2021 to 2023. In 2023, the Population and Immigration Authority reported 172,500 births, but in 2024, the figure rose to approximately 181,000.

The upward trend has continued beyond the Knesset study period, with data from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics showing further increases from November 2024 through February 2025. Hospitals nationwide have been overwhelmed with maternity ward overcrowding, drawing comparisons to the post-World War II "baby boom" in the United States.

"Despite the unimaginable hardship of the past year, we see how the people of Israel choose to grow from grief," said Tamano-Shata. "The rise in births is proof of our inner strength and our ability to create new life even in the most difficult times."

Families Choosing Life Amid Uncertainty

For some families, the decision to have children during the ongoing conflict was not a choice made in spite of the war, but rather because of it.

Moran Bouzaglo, 40, a Pilates instructor from Tel Aviv, and her husband, Shimi, 35, welcomed their first child four months ago. She became pregnant several months after the war began and explained that the decision was deliberate. "It gave us some light and sanity in a dark time," she said. "At the same time, there were fears. I kept asking myself: What will happen when he reaches the age of military service? It was terrifying, but we decided to go for it anyway. After October 7 took so many lives from us, bringing a life into the world felt like the right thing to do."

When Bouzaglo gave birth, maternity wards were unusually packed. "At Lis Maternity Hospital alone, there were more than 50 births that night, and they had to open an additional ward," she recalled. Even in the midst of joy, reality intruded. "Just minutes after I gave birth, a siren went off. Luckily, the hospital was fortified. But yes, this is what it means to have a baby during wartime — running to shelters with a newborn."