In a sobering revelation, UN Women has unveiled the harrowing toll of the conflict in Gaza on its female population, with over 10,000 Palestinian women, including an estimated 6,000 mothers, falling victim to the violence, leaving behind 19,000 children orphaned.
The latest Gender Alert released by UN Women sheds light on the dire circumstances faced by women in Gaza, where the devastation of war has left survivors displaced, widowed, and grappling with starvation. This differentiated impact underscores the stark reality that the war on Gaza is also a war on women.
Titled “Scarcity and Fear,” the report focuses on the acute lack of access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, which are indispensable for women’s health, dignity, safety, and privacy. Shockingly, more than one million Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are confronting catastrophic hunger, with critical shortages of food, clean drinking water, and basic sanitation facilities, posing life-threatening risks.
Access to clean water is particularly vital for breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women, who have heightened daily water and caloric intake requirements, as well as for maintaining menstrual hygiene with dignity and safety. The report estimates that meeting the menstrual hygiene needs of women and girls in Gaza requires millions of disposable or reusable sanitary pads monthly.
A Gazan woman’s poignant testimony captures the desperation and deprivation endured by many: “In Gaza, we [women] cannot meet our simplest and most basic needs: eating well, drinking safe water, accessing a toilet, having (sanitary) pads, taking a shower, … changing our clothes…”
Susanne Mikhail, Regional Director of UN Women in the Arab States, underscored the gravity of the situation, emphasizing that more than ten thousand women, predominantly mothers, have lost their lives, while survivors endure daily hardship, illness, and fear.
The call for peace resonates strongly, with UN Women advocating for the urgent implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 2728 (2024), which demands an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
UN Women is actively collaborating with Palestinian women’s organizations and humanitarian partners to address the rights and needs of women and girls, providing essential assistance to nearly 100,000 women and their families in Gaza. However, the scale of the crisis demands a collective humanitarian response that places women and girls at its forefront, as emphasized in the Agreed Conclusions of the recent Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68).
