UN Women Reports One Million Women and Girls Starving in Gaza Amid Humanitarian Crisis
The United Nations entity UN Women has revealed that approximately one million women and girls in Gaza are experiencing mass starvation, escalating violence, and abuse as the humanitarian situation deteriorates, Xinhua reported. In a statement released on July 28, UN Women highlighted soaring malnutrition rates and the collapse of essential services, forcing women and girls to adopt perilous survival strategies.
“Women and girls in Gaza face the impossible choice of starving to death in their shelters or risking their lives searching for food and water,” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women. She described the situation as “horrific, unconscionable, and inhumane,” urging for an immediate end to the suffering through unhindered humanitarian access and a permanent ceasefire.
Local women-led organizations report that women are boiling discarded food scraps to feed their children and venturing into dangerous areas to find basic necessities. The statement notes that over 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza, many of whom were mothers, leaving vulnerable children and elderly without care. Pregnant women face extreme risks, enduring malnutrition and childbirth without adequate medical support.
UN Women joins calls from the United Nations and humanitarian groups for unrestricted humanitarian aid, the release of hostages, and a ceasefire leading to sustainable peace. The agency expressed hope that the upcoming High-Level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine will mark a turning point toward a two-state solution ensuring peace and security for Israel and Palestine.
