UNITED NATIONS — Women and children are the main victims of the war in Gaza. Some 16,000 people have been killed since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel, with an estimated two mothers losing their lives every hour, the UN agency for gender equality said on Friday.
As a result of the more than 100 days of conflict, UN Women added, at least 3,000 women may have become widows and heads of households and at least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers.
In a report released Friday, the agency highlighted gender inequality and the burden on women fleeing fighting with children and being displaced time and time again. Of the area’s 2.3 million residents, 1.9 million are displaced and “nearly a million women and girls” are seeking shelter and safety.
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said this is “a brutal reversal” of fighting during the 15 years before the Hamas attack on October 7. She previously said that 67% of all civilians killed in Gaza and the West Bank were men. and less than 14% were women.
She reiterated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate release of all hostages captured in Israel on October 7.
“As much as we mourn the plight of the women and girls in Gaza today, we will mourn even more tomorrow without unlimited humanitarian aid and an end to the destruction and killing,” Bahous said in a statement accompanying the report.
“These women and girls are deprived of safety, medicine, health care and shelter. They face threats of famine and starvation. Above all, they are deprived of hope and justice,” she said.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says nearly 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, 70% of them women and children. According to the United Nations, more than half a million people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – are suffering from hunger.
In Israel, about 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war, and about 250 people were taken hostage by militants. It is believed that more than a hundred hostages are still being held captive in Gaza.
Bahous said UN Women had heard “shocking stories of unconscionable sexual violence during Hamas’ attacks” and reiterated UN calls for accountability, justice and support for all those affected.
Despite escalating hostilities in Gaza, the agency says women-led organizations and women’s rights organizations continue to operate. This showed that 83% of the women’s organizations surveyed in the Gaza Strip are at least partially operational and mainly focus on emergency response to the war.
But UN Women said its analysis of funding for last year’s flash appeal for Gaza found that only 0.09% of funding went directly to national or local women’s rights organizations.
Bahous said much more aid is needed to reach Gaza, especially for women and children, and that the war must end.
“This is a time for peace,” she said. “We owe this to all Israeli and Palestinian women and girls. This is not their conflict. They should no longer pay the price.”