Reports
Women in Gaza
- Women's Rights Team
- 14 May 2024
“A suffering I wouldn’t wish upon any woman” – these are the words of Nada Abdelsalam, 34, a Palestinian woman describing her situation in Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip, as she is interviewed by Al Jazeera (Humaid, 2024). Nada’s words perfectly set the tone of the present report, which aims to shed light on the situation of Palestinian women in Gaza. More specifically, the report covers the different types of gender-based violence (GBV) that the women of Gaza face (Chapter 1), the most pressing challenges related to their health, including their sexual and reproductive health (Chapter 2) and, finally, how all of it fits into the framework of the law of war, or International Humanitarian Law (IHL) (Chapter 3).
It is important to note that the situation in Gaza is not solely a by-product of the violent attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, but rather of a continuing and ever-worsening process of illegal occupation and systematic dispossession that dates back to long before 1948 and the creation of the state of Israel, and which led to the first Nakba.1Indeed, there have been many violent flare-ups of the conflict since 1948 with the one on the 7th of October killing hundreds of Israeli citizens.2Israel immediately retaliated and, more than seven months later, the Gaza Strip is still besieged with genocidal violence. The consequences have been beyond disastrous for the population of Gaza, and most of all, its women and children, who have been disproportionately impacted.
About 70 percent of civilians killed since October 2023 have been women and children, and every day, an estimated 37 mothers are left dead, more often than not leaving behind young children (OHCHR, 2024b). Those that manage to survive too suffer tremendously. “Women in Gaza have borne the brunt of this war. Our burdens have multiplied, and our sense of privacy has vanished”, further explains Nada to Al Jazeera (Humaid, 2024). This war has taken a huge toll on the Palestinian women and its impact on their lives can be observed on numerous levels, which will be explored in the following chapters.
Firstly, as this report focuses exclusively on the women in Gaza, it is not a comprehensive account of the situation of Palestinian women as a whole, which would require an analysis of the West Bank as well. Secondly, this report does not claim to provide an exhaustive analysis of all factors relevant to the situation of the women living in the Gaza Strip. Rather, the aim is to shed light on different dimensions that constitute pressing struggles at the moment, and how these fit into the framework of IHL. Thirdly, it is necessary
1 The Nakba, which translates from Arabic to English as ‘the catastrophe’, refers to the violent persecution and displacement of 750.000 Palestinians after the unilateral declaration of independence by the State of Israel in 1948.
2 The attack on the 7th of October, 2023, and the multiplicity of other violent acts and violations of International Humanitarian Law committed by Hamas against the Jewish population in the state of Israel deserve a separate analysis and outside the scope of this report, as a result of the focus on Palestinian women in Gaza.
GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENCE | Women’s Rights Team 3
to highlight the evolving nature of the situation on the ground as the violence continues to unfold unabated. As such, any descriptions, facts, and figures included in the report are by no means static. That being said, efforts were made to integrate the most up-to-date information available. However, the full extent of the damage done will only be revealed as time passes, when active hostilities are over and the dust settles.
The extent to which the state of Israel seals off access to the Gaza Strip, for humanitarian workers as well as foreign news reporters alike, further limits the possibilities for the rest of the world to get a grip on what is truly going on in Gaza. This means that it is challenging to independently verify information and numbers. However, Palestinian reporters on the ground and the rest of the Gazan population have been making exceptional efforts to report on and broadcast as much as possible through social media channels – all while having to endure the hardships of living in the midst of a raging warzone.
It is important to note that the situation in Gaza is not solely a by-product of the violent attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, but rather of a continuing and ever-worsening process of illegal occupation and systematic dispossession that dates back to long before 1948 and the creation of the state of Israel, and which led to the first Nakba.1Indeed, there have been many violent flare-ups of the conflict since 1948 with the one on the 7th of October killing hundreds of Israeli citizens.2Israel immediately retaliated and, more than seven months later, the Gaza Strip is still besieged with genocidal violence. The consequences have been beyond disastrous for the population of Gaza, and most of all, its women and children, who have been disproportionately impacted.
About 70 percent of civilians killed since October 2023 have been women and children, and every day, an estimated 37 mothers are left dead, more often than not leaving behind young children (OHCHR, 2024b). Those that manage to survive too suffer tremendously. “Women in Gaza have borne the brunt of this war. Our burdens have multiplied, and our sense of privacy has vanished”, further explains Nada to Al Jazeera (Humaid, 2024). This war has taken a huge toll on the Palestinian women and its impact on their lives can be observed on numerous levels, which will be explored in the following chapters.
Firstly, as this report focuses exclusively on the women in Gaza, it is not a comprehensive account of the situation of Palestinian women as a whole, which would require an analysis of the West Bank as well. Secondly, this report does not claim to provide an exhaustive analysis of all factors relevant to the situation of the women living in the Gaza Strip. Rather, the aim is to shed light on different dimensions that constitute pressing struggles at the moment, and how these fit into the framework of IHL. Thirdly, it is necessary
1 The Nakba, which translates from Arabic to English as ‘the catastrophe’, refers to the violent persecution and displacement of 750.000 Palestinians after the unilateral declaration of independence by the State of Israel in 1948.
2 The attack on the 7th of October, 2023, and the multiplicity of other violent acts and violations of International Humanitarian Law committed by Hamas against the Jewish population in the state of Israel deserve a separate analysis and outside the scope of this report, as a result of the focus on Palestinian women in Gaza.
GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENCE | Women’s Rights Team 3
to highlight the evolving nature of the situation on the ground as the violence continues to unfold unabated. As such, any descriptions, facts, and figures included in the report are by no means static. That being said, efforts were made to integrate the most up-to-date information available. However, the full extent of the damage done will only be revealed as time passes, when active hostilities are over and the dust settles.
The extent to which the state of Israel seals off access to the Gaza Strip, for humanitarian workers as well as foreign news reporters alike, further limits the possibilities for the rest of the world to get a grip on what is truly going on in Gaza. This means that it is challenging to independently verify information and numbers. However, Palestinian reporters on the ground and the rest of the Gazan population have been making exceptional efforts to report on and broadcast as much as possible through social media channels – all while having to endure the hardships of living in the midst of a raging warzone.
✨ AI summary
“A suffering I wouldn’t wish upon any woman” – these are the words of Nada Abdelsalam, 34, a Palestinian woman describing her situation in Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip, as she is interviewed by Al Jazeera (Humaid, 2024). Nada’s words perfectly set the tone of the present report, which aims to shed light on the situation of Palestinian women in Gaza. More specifically, the report covers the different types of gender-based violence (GBV) that the women of Gaza face (Chapter 1), the most pressing challenges related to their health, including their sexual and reproductive health (Chapter 2) and, finally, how all of it fits into the framework of the law of war, or International Humanitarian Law (IHL) (Chapter 3).
It is important to note that the situation in Gaza is not solely a by-product of the violent attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, but rather of a continuing and ever-worsening process of illegal occupation and systematic dispossession that dates back to long before 1948 and the creation of the state of Israel, and which led to the first Nakba.1Indeed, there have been many violent flare-ups of the conflict since 1948 with the one on the 7th of October killing hundreds of Israeli citizens.2Israel immediately retaliated and, more than seven months later, the Gaza Strip is still besieged with genocidal violence. The consequences have been beyond disastrous for the population of Gaza, and most of all, its women and children, who have been disproportionately impacted.
About 70 percent of civilians killed since October 2023 have been women and children, and every day, an estimated 37 mothers are left dead, more often than not leaving behind young children (OHCHR, 2024b). Those that manage to survive too suffer tremendously. “Women in Gaza have borne the brunt of this war. Our burdens have multiplied, and our sense of privacy has vanished”, further explains Nada to Al Jazeera (Humaid, 2024). This war has taken a huge toll on the Palestinian women and its impact on their lives can be observed on numerous levels, which will be explored in the following chapters.
Firstly, as this report focuses exclusively on the women in Gaza, it is not a comprehensive account of the situation of Palestinian women as a whole, which would require an analysis of the West Bank as well. Secondly, this report does not claim to provide an exhaustive analysis of all factors relevant to the situation of the women living in the Gaza Strip. Rather, the aim is to shed light on different dimensions that constitute pressing struggles at the moment, and how these fit into the framework of IHL. Thirdly, it is necessary
1 The Nakba, which translates from Arabic to English as ‘the catastrophe’, refers to the violent persecution and displacement of 750.000 Palestinians after the unilateral declaration of independence by the State of Israel in 1948.
2 The attack on the 7th of October, 2023, and the multiplicity of other violent acts and violations of International Humanitarian Law committed by Hamas against the Jewish population in the state of Israel deserve a separate analysis and outside the scope of this report, as a result of the focus on Palestinian women in Gaza.
GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENCE | Women’s Rights Team 3
to highlight the evolving nature of the situation on the ground as the violence continues to unfold unabated. As such, any descriptions, facts, and figures included in the report are by no means static. That being said, efforts were made to integrate the most up-to-date information available. However, the full extent of the damage done will only be revealed as time passes, when active hostilities are over and the dust settles.
The extent to which the state of Israel seals off access to the Gaza Strip, for humanitarian workers as well as foreign news reporters alike, further limits the possibilities for the rest of the world to get a grip on what is truly going on in Gaza. This means that it is challenging to independently verify information and numbers. However, Palestinian reporters on the ground and the rest of the Gazan population have been making exceptional efforts to report on and broadcast as much as possible through social media channels – all while having to endure the hardships of living in the midst of a raging warzone.
It is important to note that the situation in Gaza is not solely a by-product of the violent attacks perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, but rather of a continuing and ever-worsening process of illegal occupation and systematic dispossession that dates back to long before 1948 and the creation of the state of Israel, and which led to the first Nakba.1Indeed, there have been many violent flare-ups of the conflict since 1948 with the one on the 7th of October killing hundreds of Israeli citizens.2Israel immediately retaliated and, more than seven months later, the Gaza Strip is still besieged with genocidal violence. The consequences have been beyond disastrous for the population of Gaza, and most of all, its women and children, who have been disproportionately impacted.
About 70 percent of civilians killed since October 2023 have been women and children, and every day, an estimated 37 mothers are left dead, more often than not leaving behind young children (OHCHR, 2024b). Those that manage to survive too suffer tremendously. “Women in Gaza have borne the brunt of this war. Our burdens have multiplied, and our sense of privacy has vanished”, further explains Nada to Al Jazeera (Humaid, 2024). This war has taken a huge toll on the Palestinian women and its impact on their lives can be observed on numerous levels, which will be explored in the following chapters.
Firstly, as this report focuses exclusively on the women in Gaza, it is not a comprehensive account of the situation of Palestinian women as a whole, which would require an analysis of the West Bank as well. Secondly, this report does not claim to provide an exhaustive analysis of all factors relevant to the situation of the women living in the Gaza Strip. Rather, the aim is to shed light on different dimensions that constitute pressing struggles at the moment, and how these fit into the framework of IHL. Thirdly, it is necessary
1 The Nakba, which translates from Arabic to English as ‘the catastrophe’, refers to the violent persecution and displacement of 750.000 Palestinians after the unilateral declaration of independence by the State of Israel in 1948.
2 The attack on the 7th of October, 2023, and the multiplicity of other violent acts and violations of International Humanitarian Law committed by Hamas against the Jewish population in the state of Israel deserve a separate analysis and outside the scope of this report, as a result of the focus on Palestinian women in Gaza.
GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENCE | Women’s Rights Team 3
to highlight the evolving nature of the situation on the ground as the violence continues to unfold unabated. As such, any descriptions, facts, and figures included in the report are by no means static. That being said, efforts were made to integrate the most up-to-date information available. However, the full extent of the damage done will only be revealed as time passes, when active hostilities are over and the dust settles.
The extent to which the state of Israel seals off access to the Gaza Strip, for humanitarian workers as well as foreign news reporters alike, further limits the possibilities for the rest of the world to get a grip on what is truly going on in Gaza. This means that it is challenging to independently verify information and numbers. However, Palestinian reporters on the ground and the rest of the Gazan population have been making exceptional efforts to report on and broadcast as much as possible through social media channels – all while having to endure the hardships of living in the midst of a raging warzone.
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