The United Nations has released a report revealing that more than 10,000 women have been killed in the besieged Gaza Strip since Israel launched its campaign in early October. The report, compiled by a UN body dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment, highlights the devastating toll of the conflict on women and children.
According to the report, an estimated 6,000 of the women killed were mothers, leaving nearly 19,000 children orphaned. Surviving women now face displacement, widowhood, hunger, and other hardships following Israeli airstrikes and ground operations.
Susanne Mikhail, the regional director of UN Women in the Arab States, emphasized the dire situation faced by women in Gaza during a media briefing in Geneva. She stated, “Women who have survived the bombing are suffering daily starvation, sickness, and constant fear. The war in Gaza is no doubt a war on women, who are paying a heavy price for a war not of their making.”
The report further highlights that over one million Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are facing “catastrophic hunger.” Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, has also pointed out that Palestinian women have been persecuted for decades “for being Palestinian and for being women.”
The report calls for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2728, adopted on March 25, which demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all detained individuals, and ensures safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.
Since the beginning of Israel's campaign on October 7, the death toll has surpassed 34,000, with the majority being women and children. The devastating figures also indicate that over 14,500 of Gaza’s 1.1 million children have been killed. Thousands more children are missing and presumed buried under rubble, their deaths unrecorded.
