GENEVA (6 May 2024) – UN experts* today condemned the continued and systematic onslaught of violence committed against Palestinians in Gaza, with most victims being women and children over the past seven months.
They noted that women, girls and children overall are among those most exposed to danger in this conflict, and that as of 29 April 2024, of 34,488 Palestinians killed in Gaza, 14,500 have been children and 9,500 women.
Over 8,000 others are reported missing or under the rubble – and the experts noted that at least half of them can be assumed to be women and children.
According to UN reports, a number of women and girls have also been forcefully disappeared by the Israeli military since the beginning of Israel’s onslaught.
According to UNFPA, around 155,000 pregnant women and new mothers are struggling to survive and access basic health care.
They were dismayed at continued reports of sexual assault and violence against women and girls, including against those detained by Israeli occupation forces.
These States can no longer ignore the fact that the weapons are being used to kill and maim innocent women and children.
“Women and children are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law and human rights law”.
GENEVA, May 6, 2024 – Today, UN experts* denounced the ongoing and systematic violence against Palestinians in Gaza, where the majority of casualties have been women and children over the previous seven months.
Details from recently discovered mass graves in the Gaza Strip horrify us. Many of the over 390 bodies found at the Nasser and Al Shifa hospitals, including those of women and children, reportedly showed evidence of torture, summary executions, and possible cases of people buried alive, according to the experts.
They pointed out that, as of 29 April 2024, of the 34,488 Palestinians killed in Gaza, 9,500 had been women and 14,500 had been children, making women and girls among those most at risk in this conflict. It is estimated that 75% of the additional 77,643 injuries are sustained by women. At least half of the over 8,000 people who have been reported missing or buried under the debris are likely women and children, according to the experts. They also mentioned that 17,000 Palestinian children are thought to have become orphans since the start of the Gaza War, and that an estimated 63 women, including 37 mothers, are slain every day.
Inward displacement accounts for 1/7 million and 1/1. Millions of people are expected to experience food insecurity at catastrophic levels. UN reports state that since Israel’s invasion began, the Israeli military has also forcibly disappeared a number of women and girls. As per the experts, the largest fertility clinic in Gaza that was reportedly holding 3,000 embryos was destroyed by Israeli forces.
“The treatment of women who are pregnant or nursing remains abhorrent; an estimated 50,000 pregnant Palestinian women and 20,000 newborn babies are put in unspeakable danger due to Israeli snipers’ deliberate denial of access to medical facilities and direct bombardment of hospitals. In addition, there are insufficient beds and medical supplies available.”. A shortage of electricity to run incubators has resulted in hundreds of baby deaths, and over 183 women give birth every day without pain relief, according to the report. Miscarriages have increased by up to 300 percent as a result of the terrible circumstances. Ninety-five percent of expectant and nursing mothers experience extreme food insecurity.
According to the experts, women giving birth to their babies under terrible conditions. Approximately 155,000 expectant mothers and recent moms struggle to make ends meet and obtain basic medical care, according to UNFPA estimates. Additionally, there are reports of contraceptive pills being taken to avoid the unsanitary menstrual conditions, leaving an estimated 690,000 women and girls in Gaza without access to menstrual hygiene supplies and unable to manage their cycle in privacy and with dignity.
They said that women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the extraordinary widespread destruction of housing and the unstable living conditions found in tents, including with regard to their privacy and personal safety.
“The story of an infant saved from her mother’s womb after she was killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip, and died days later in an incubator on April 26,” the experts said, “illustrates systematic violence being inflicted on women and their children.”.
The ongoing reports of violence and sexual assault against women and girls, including those who are being held captive by Israeli occupation forces, horrified them. The experts stated that the Israeli government has consistently disregarded the reports of crimes and failed to carry out an impartial, independent, and efficient investigation.
They expressed their disgust at Israel’s “violent, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks against women, seemingly sparing no means to destroy their lives and deny them their fundamental human rights.”.
“States must immediately stop exporting any weapons, and Israel must end all hostilities.”. The use of weapons to kill and maim innocent women and children is an irreversible reality that these States cannot continue to ignore. The experts declared, “There are no more justifications. “International humanitarian law and human rights law grant women and children special protection.”
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