Six months into the war on Gaza, over 10,000 women have been killed by Israel, among them an estimated 6,000 mothers, leaving 19,000 children orphaned, UN Women said on Tuesday citing its latest report.
Israel’s war on Gaza is “also a war on women”, the UN agency said at the launch of the report: Scarcity and fear: A gender analysis of the impact of the war in Gaza on vital services essential to women’s and girls’ health, safety, and dignity.
More than one million Palestinian women and girls in Gaza are facing catastrophic hunger, with almost no access to food, safe drinking water, functioning toilets or running water, creating life-threatening risks, the report said.
“Access to clean water is especially critical for breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women, who have higher daily water and caloric intake requirements. It is also essential for the ability of women and girls to manage their menstrual hygiene with dignity and safety.”
UN Women estimates that 10 million disposable menstrual pads or four million reusable sanitary pads are required each month to cover the needs of 690,000 women and girls in Gaza.
The war in Gaza is no doubt a war on women, who are paying a heavy price for a war not of their making”, said Susanne Mikhail, Regional Director of UN Women in the Arab States in a media briefing in Geneva.