Gaza war’s terrible toll on women and girls highlights ongoing crisis

The overall total includes at least 22,000 women and 16,000 girls and amounts to an average of at least 47 women and girls killed every day, the agency’s Sofia Calltorp, Chief of Humanitarian Action, told journalists in Geneva.

“Those killed were mothers, they were daughters, sisters, and friends, deeply loved by those around them,” she noted, adding that the killings have continued in recent months, despite a ceasefire between Hamas fighters and the Israeli military.

Data also indicates that nearly 11,000 women and girls have been injured and that many have life-changing disabilities. The true toll is likely higher because many bodies are still trapped under rubble, UN Women said. According to the Gazan health authorities, more than 72,315 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and another 172,137 injured since October 2023.

This has created a chronic humanitarian emergency in Gaza where many households are now headed by women facing increased economic hardship and protection risks.

Families clinging together

Six months since the ceasefire began in Gaza last October, women and girls continue to face severe and persistent risks, as humanitarian needs remain critical and recovery conditions remain fragile.

“This war has reshaped families. Tens of thousands of households are now headed by women,” UN Women’s Ms. Calltorp insisted. “Having lost their husbands, they are sustaining their families without income, without support or access to essential services.”

In addition, “there is a complete lack of most services”, Ms. Calltorp continued, highlighting an urgent need for “the basics”, including sexual and reproductive health and access to sanitary pads. She recalled visiting Gaza in November and meeting two women who had to deliver their babies in the street, “because there were no transportations to bring them to any functional hospitals”.

UN Women is calling for full respect of the ceasefire, adherence to international law, and scaled-up humanitarian assistance, stressing that women and girls must be at the centre of recovery and peacebuilding efforts.

The agency remains on the ground in Gaza partnering women-led and women's rights organizations.

Together with the UN system, aid partners and women’s organizations, UN Women works to reach all women and girls with lifesaving assistance and to ensure that women's organizations are funded and represented in decision-making and reconstruction.