UN Women have labelled the war in Gaza as a “war on women”, as women and girls continue bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis.
It’s been six months since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7 2023, sparking a strong military attack from the Israeli Defence Force in Gaza, one of the most populated places in the world.
Since then, UN Women estimate approximately 10,000 women have been killed, including 6,000 mothers. This has left around 19,000 children orphaned in Gaza, according to UN Women. Thousands more women have been displaced, widowed and/or are facing starvation as a result of the crisis.
One woman in Gaza spoke to UN Women about her experience, one that is shared by most Palestinian women.
“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,” she said.
According to UN Women, one million Palestinian women and girls are facing catastrophic hunger, with close to zero access to food, safe drinking water, functioning toilets or running water. Lack of access to clean water is especially difficult and dangerous for women who are breastfeeding.
Menstrual hygiene is also low in Gaza due to limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. UN Women estimates it will take 10 million disposable pads, or four million reusable pads, every single month to cover the menstrual needs of 690,00 women and girls in Gaza.
Susanne Mikhail, the regional director of UN Women in the Arab States, said the war in Gaza is “no doubt a war on women”.
“More than ten thousand women have been killed so far, of which an estimated six thousand are mothers. Women who have survived the bombing are suffering daily starvation, sickness, and constant fear,” Mikhail said.
“The war in Gaza is no doubt a war on women, who are paying a heavy price for a war not of their making.”
According to figures from Al Jazeera, at least 33,899 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since October 7 2023. More than 13,800 of these deaths have been children.
Humanitarian aid in Gaza
UN Women said their aid workers have reached almost 100,000 women and their families with food, blankets, winter clothes, soap, diapers and sanitary kits.
According to the UN-led organisation, there are tens of thousands more items that have been held up at the border crossing.
Non-government organisations and aid workers have faced challenges in crossing Israel’s border into Gaza to provide humanitarian aid for Palestinians. Speaking to journalists via video conference in New York earlier this week, Andrea de Domenico, the head of the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office (UNOCHA), spoke of the difficulties in providing humanitarian aid services to people in Gaza.
“We are dealing with this dance where we do one step forward, two steps backwards; or two steps forward and one step backward, which leaves us basically at the same point,” de Domenico said.
Aid workers in Gaza are being killed by the Israeli Defence Force’s attack. According to the UN, 178 UNRWA staff members have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Last month, Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her colleagues at World Central Kitchen was killed in an Israeli airstrike.