The United Nations (UN) entity dedicated to gender equality has reported that women and children are the principal victims in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The agency revealed that approximately 16,000 people have perished, with an estimated rate of two mothers being lost every hour since the war’s inception.
The UN Women’s agency added that due to the conflict, which has spanned over 100 days, nearly 3,000 women may have become widows and sole providers for their families. Additionally, at least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers.
A report released last Friday highlighted the gender disparities and burdens borne by women fleeing the conflict with their children, repeatedly displaced, as per the Associated Press. It further stated that out of the 2.3 million inhabitants in the Gaza Strip, there are 1.9 million internally displaced persons, including “nearly one million women and girls” seeking shelter and safety.
Sima Bahous, the Executive Director of UN Women, described the shift like combat over the past fifteen years leading up to the war that started on October 7. Previously, 67% of all civilian casualties in Gaza and the West Bank were men, with less than 14% being women.
The United Nations commented on the report, with Secretary-General António Guterres calling for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds and the immediate release of all Israeli detainees in Gaza.
Bahous, in a statement accompanying the report, expressed, “As much as we grieve for the situation of women and girls in Gaza today, we will grieve even more tomorrow without unrestricted humanitarian aid and an end to the destruction and killing.”
She emphasized the deprivation faced by these women and girls, including lack of safety, medicine, healthcare, shelter, and the imminent threats of hunger and famine. “Above all, they are deprived of hope and justice,” she added.
Despite the escalating hostilities in Gaza, the agency reported that women’s rights organizations within the Gaza Strip continue their work. It found that 83% of the surveyed women’s organizations in the area are at least partially operational, focusing primarily on emergency responses to the war.
Bahous reiterated the need for more aid to reach Gaza, especially for women and children, and for an end to the war. “This is a time for peace… We owe it to all Israeli and Palestinian women and girls. This is not their conflict. They should no longer pay the price for it.”
