Nearly 50,000 women and girls have been killed or severely injured in the Gaza Strip over three years of war, representing one in every 21 female residents, according to assessments published by UN Women. Israeli airstrikes and ground military operations have killed more than 38,000 women and girls and left 11,700 severely injured with lifelong disabilities since October 2023.
Across the entire population, more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza over the three-year period, Al Jazeera reported. While the vast majority of casualties occurred during the first two years of the war, UN Women stated that women and girls continue to be killed and injured despite a ceasefire agreement that entered into effect in October 2025.
Displacement and the Collapse of Living Conditions
The Israeli military has issued more than 150 evacuation and movement orders since the war began, driving nearly one million women and girls from their homes, UN Women reported. Today, almost every woman and girl in the territory remains displaced. The majority live in makeshift tent camps or among the rubble of destroyed buildings without privacy or adequate sanitation, as tent cities continue to spread amid the ruins.
UN Women stated that displaced females are attempting to survive in conditions incompatible with basic dignity. Women and girls are carrying the heavy responsibilities of caring for children, the sick, the elderly, and the injured, as well as cooking and cleaning without the basic means required to carry out these daily tasks. The agency noted that women have also been forced to deliver babies in these dire circumstances.
The Human Toll Behind the Figures
Humanitarian agencies emphasized that behind every statistic is an individual life. UN Women documented the case of Amani, a 35-year-old psychologist and mother of four who was killed in an airstrike alongside her children. Her mother recounted that Amani had dreamed of watching her children grow up and building a future together with them.
Her mother stressed that she did not want her daughter's memory reduced to the day of her death, telling UN Women:
"We want the world to know who Amani was in life: an ambitious Palestinian woman, a devoted mother, a psychology professional."
The agency noted that field workers and community organizers face the same harsh realities. Among those forced from their homes is Hayam, a programme coordinator at the Women's Affairs Center, who remains displaced like almost every woman and girl across Gaza, living in tents or among the ruins of their homes as families mourn the dead and endure relentless displacement.
