{"id":316986,"date":"2026-04-17T12:37:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T16:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=316986"},"modified":"2026-04-17T13:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:01:45","slug":"advocacy-brief-the-cost-of-war-in-gaza-on-women-and-girls-un-women-17apr26","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/advocacy-brief-the-cost-of-war-in-gaza-on-women-and-girls-un-women-17apr26\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy brief: The cost of war in Gaza on women and girls – UN Women [EN\/AR]"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

17 April 2026<\/p>\n

The war in Gaza created a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale and magnitude. Tens of thousands of women, girls, men, and boys were killed. Those who did survive face daily threats to their lives, starvation, recurrent displacement, and deeply restricted access to essential services. The impact on their health, safety, and well-being has been devastating. Homes, schools, and even designated shelters were destroyed as a result of Israeli bombardment and land operations.<\/p>\n

This advocacy brief draws on recent analysis conducted by UN Women to highlight the experiences of women and girls in Gaza since October 2023. Using a temporal and gender-focused lens, it highlights patterns of direct attacks, examining when, where, and how violence has unfolded and the resulting impact on women and girls. It traces how gender-specific vulnerabilities evolve and intensify over the course of war. Together, these insights highlight the urgent need for targeted, gender-responsive action to protect civilians and address the compounding risks faced by women and girls in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The findings below highlight the scale, patterns, and consequences of the war on women and girls in Gaza.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deaths of women and girls reached levels unseen before in previous wars on Gaza, peaking during periods of intensified violence. Women and girls continue to be killed despite a ceasefire agreement.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

More than 71,200 people were killed in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2025, though this is likely an underestimate given the collapse of health information and reporting systems. Women, children, and older persons together represent more than half of all fatalities. UN Women estimates that more than 38,000 women and girls had been killed as of December 2025. This includes more than 22,000 women and 16,000 girls. Women and girls accounted for proportions of deaths far higher than those observed in previous conflicts in Gaza, when women and girls accounted for 15 per cent of fatalities in the 2008-2009 and 22 per cent in the 2014 conflicts.<\/p>\n

UN Women\u2019s analysis of trends over time shows that fatalities among women and children were highest during periods of intensified bombardment, particularly in the first six months of the war. During this period, women and children accounted for nearly two-thirds of all recorded deaths, underscoring their acute vulnerability to direct attacks. These patterns align with the widespread use of remote explosive violence, including air and drone strikes, shelling, artillery, and missile fire, which have defined the conflict.<\/p>\n

Fatality peaks among women and children also coincided with periods of large-scale destruction of civilian infrastructure. Destruction of homes, schools, and designated shelters were heavily concentrated during the early phase of the war, with residential buildings accounting for over 95 per cent of all recorded infrastructure damages. Nearly 59 per cent of all women and child fatalities occurred during this initial period of peak violence.<\/p>\n

By the end of 2023, extensive damage to residential areas, particularly in northern Gaza, had displaced approximately 1.9 million people, or 85 per cent of the population. Many sought refuge in designated shelters, including facilities operated by UNRWA, yet these spaces also came under repeated attack. Strikes on displacement sites, makeshift camps, and civilian buildings used as shelters continued throughout the conflict, resulting in further deaths and injuries among internally displaced persons (IDPs). Women and children remained disproportionately affected, including in incidents where homes were targeted due to the perceived affiliations or professions of male family members.<\/p>\n

The extent of the killings and destruction shows that there was no safe place for civilians in Gaza during the war. Even locations intended to provide protection exposed women and children to heightened risks, reinforcing the urgent need for strengthened civilian protection measures and accountability. Alarmingly, fatalities among women and girls have continued despite the ceasefire agreed in early October 2025. These killings have taken place against a backdrop of widespread violence against women and girls over two years of war. It is critical to note that these figures likely understate the true toll. Many bodies remain trapped under rubble, and the collapse of health and reporting systems has severely constrained the ability to fully document deaths.<\/p>\n

Women and girls remain largely invisible in the injury statistics, limiting understanding of the long-term gendered impact of the war<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond fatalities, the scale of harm extends to a largely invisible burden of injury. Recorded injuries consistently outnumbered fatalities throughout October 2023-October 2025, with pronounced spikes during periods of intensified hostilities, notably in late 2023 and again in mid-2025. Unlike fatality figures, injury statistics are not disaggregated by sex or age, limiting the ability to assess who is the most affected. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 42,000 people are living with lifechanging injuries requiring long term rehabilitation following two years of war. In the absence of disaggregated data, the specific impact on women and girls cannot be directly assessed, despite their share among overall casualties. Under the most conservative scenario, UN Women estimates that there are close to 11,000 women and girls with lifelong injury. This critical data gap obscures the full extent of harm experienced by women and girls and constitutes a structural blind spot that limits understanding of the long-term, gendered impacts of the war.<\/p>\n

Cycles of displacement have deepened gendered and health risks for women and girls<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside direct attacks, repeated displacement has further deepened risks for women and girls. Since 7 October 2023, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have issued over 150 evacuation and movement orders across the Gaza Strip, triggering successive waves of displacement and forcing many families to relocate multiple times. Nearly one million women and girls have been displaced in Gaza, with many experiencing displacement more than four times.<\/p>\n

Vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, women with disabilities, and women heads of households, were disproportionately affected, often forced to relocate with minimal assistance. The arduous and often unsafe evacuation process, frequently undertaken on foot, funneled families into already overcrowded sites, heightening protection, health, and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) risks.<\/p>\n

Women and girls face acute challenges, including restricted access to essential resources and services. Reports indicate that some are prevented from accessing basic necessities such as food and water, and healthcare. These conditions forced women to limit food and water intake and sacrifice menstrual hygiene, increasing health and reproductive health risks.<\/p>\n

The depletion of hygiene supplies in Gaza has further deepened these challenges. By mid-2025, essential menstrual items were available at only a fraction of monthly needs, leaving many women and girls without adequate hygiene support. This is increasing health risks \u2013 including the risk of infections and long-term reproductive health complications, and is undermining dignity and well-being, while the collapse of the health system leaves many without timely care.<\/p>\n

Systematic collapse of reproductive health services during the conflict continues to amplify risks to women and girls <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The war in Gaza has inflicted systemic reproductive violence by severely limiting women and girls\u2019 access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. At least 927 attacks have targeted health facilities and ambulances, including major maternity wards and fertility clinics through October 2023-October 2025.<\/p>\n

By September 2025, only 37 per cent of 358 SRH service points remained functional, including 12 hospitals, four field hospitals, 45 primary clinics, and 74 medical points. The destruction of the alBasma IVF Centre eliminated Gaza\u2019s fertility clinic and its genetic bank, foreclosing reproductive choices for thousands of families.<\/p>\n

By March 2025, an estimated 130 births were occurring each day in Gaza, more than one-quarter by caesarean section, placing extraordinary strain on an already degraded health system. Limited facility capacity necessitated rapid patient turnover and early discharge of mothers and newborns, often at or near the minimum post-delivery observation period, constraining the provision of safe postpartum and postnatal care in line with World Health Organization standards. At the same time, worsening maternal malnutrition heightened risks of low birth weight, stillbirth, and maternal mortality. Emergency obstetric and newborn care services, including Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICUs), were operating far beyond functional capacity by mid-2025, with some facilities reporting workloads at up to twice their designed capacity. Women were forced into unsafe home births and denied access to family planning, and emergency care. Mass displacement and overcrowded shelters further exacerbate risks of infection, exposing pregnant women, women with disabilities, and adolescent girls to higher sexual and reproductive health risks.<\/p>\n

Despite the October 2025 ceasefire, women in Gaza continue to give birth amid extensive destruction of the health system. Reports indicate that approximately 15 births occur outside hospital settings each week, often without skilled attendance or safe delivery conditions. Despite an increase in maternity bed and incubator capacity by end 2025, maternity services remain severely constrained, with limited access to essential medical supplies and equipment continuing to restrict service availability.<\/p>\n

The systematic dismantling of reproductive health services constitutes a gendered form of violence that undermines women\u2019s autonomy, health, and life prospects across generations.<\/p>\n

Starvation and food insecurity have reached catastrophic levels, disproportionately impacting women and children.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The war has driven a severe and prolonged starvation crisis. With 93 per cent of the population facing acute food insecurity between 1 April and 10 May 2025, families were forced into extreme coping mechanisms amid widespread aid disruptions and insecurity.<\/p>\n

By August 2025, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification [IPC] estimated that over 640,000 people experiencing catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5). As of 12 September 2025, at least 369 deaths from malnutrition have been verified; however, the absence of sex-disaggregated mortality data limits the understanding of the differential gendered impact. Mothers and fathers witnessed the deaths of 97 children from starvation, while at least 49,500 children were receiving treatment for malnutrition by the time a ceasefire agreement was reached in October 2025. By July 2025, approximately 40 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women were malnourished. During this period, an estimated 500,000 women and girls remained at risk of starvation. Accessing food was extremely dangerous, with around 2,600 civilians killed and 19,182 injured at or near militarized food distribution points, compounding the crisis and limiting lifesaving aid.<\/p>\n

The humanitarian crisis is expected to remain critical for at least six months following the ceasefire, with an estimated 1.6 million people still facing Crisis-level or worse food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above) between December 2025 and April 2026.48 Women and children will continue to bear the brunt of these conditions. An estimated 37,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are projected to require treatment for acute malnutrition in the year following the ceasefire, alongside approximately 101,000 children aged 6\u201359 months, including 50,000 girls. These projections underscore the enduring and disproportionate impact of the conflict on women and children, and the urgent need for sustained, targeted humanitarian response beyond the cessation of hostilities.<\/p>\n

Rise in women-headed households in Gaza signals long-term social and protection burdens on women and girls<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The war reshaped household composition and care roles in Gaza, imposing sustained social, economic, and protection burdens on women and girls. The high death rates among men, accounting for 48 per cent of total fatalities since October 2023, have resulted in a growing number of de facto women-headed households (WHHs), leaving women and girls more vulnerable. Before the escalation of conflict in 2023, only 9 per cent of households in Gaza were women-headed. UN Women estimates that more than 58,600 households in Gaza are now headed by women, approximately 14 per cent of all households.<\/p>\n

Evidence from previous violence escalations shows that WHHs are more likely to be displaced (88%) than male-headed households (77%), reflecting their heightened exposure to instability. The loss of male household members also undermines women\u2019s and children\u2019s ability to secure basic needs such as food, shelter, and protection, increasing their risks of hunger, and insecurity in a conflict environment. Additionally, an IPC contributing evidence collected between May and July 2025, through household surveys across the Gaza Strip (excluding North Gaza), indicates widespread loss of ownership documents and tenure insecurity affecting women. In Khan Younis and Rafah, 83% of women reported losing ownership papers, while in Gaza Governorate, 71% of women reported the loss of ownership documents. The assessment also found significant gender-based barriers to housing and land rights, with 48\u201380 per cent of women across the four governorates reporting discrimination or obstacles when attempting to claim or retain property thereby heightening their vulnerability and undermining access to social protection.<\/p>\n

Destruction of education infrastructure threatens girls\u2019 learning, safety, and future opportunities<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The conflict in Gaza has devastated educational infrastructure, with over 97 per cent of schools sustained damage and hundreds repurposed as shelters, directly affecting more than 328,000 girls and 330,698 boys. The Education Cluster estimates that between 7 October 2023 and 8 July 2025, 97 per cent of schools sustained some level of damage, including direct or likely damage, and 91.8 per cent (518 of 564 school buildings) require full reconstruction or major rehabilitation. Thirty-five university buildings were destroyed, and 57 others were damaged. More than 320 school buildings, including UNRWA schools, were used to shelter internally displaced persons (IDPs), many of which were also directly struck.<\/p>\n

The inability to attend school has long-term consequences, early and forced marriage for girls, and child labour. For women, the destruction of schools also removes a major employment avenue, as most teachers in Gaza are female. Given the scale of destruction, restoring education facilities will take years, with implications for the capacity and quality of the education system for generations to come.<\/p>\n

UN Women estimates that even after schools are restored, many children are likely to remain out of school due to the psychological impacts of conflict and children\u2019s need to support family survival. Loss of education affects boys and girls differently, exacerbating gender inequalities. When girls are deprived of schooling, the consequences are particularly severe: economic dependence increases, early marriage and pregnancy risks rise, traditional gender roles and responsibilities are reinforced, and opportunities for voice, agency, and future employment are severely limited. The ongoing collapse of the education system in Gaza threatens to perpetuate cycles of vulnerability, reduce women\u2019s and girls\u2019 participation in public and economic life, and undermine long term recovery and social development.<\/p>\n

UN Women calls to uphold ceasefire, accountability, enforce international law, and scale up humanitarian aid<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n