UN Warns Gaza’s Female-Headed Households Face “Impossible Choices” for Survival
UN Warns Gaza’s Female-Headed Households Face “Impossible Choices” for Survival
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UN Women has raised concerns over the worsening conditions faced by families headed by women in the Gaza Strip, saying tens of thousands of women are struggling daily to meet their families’ basic needs amid shortages of food, clean water, shelter, and essential services.
According to new data from the UN agency, women now head nearly a quarter of households in Gaza, representing around 86,290 families — approximately double the level recorded before October 2023.
Sophia Calltorp, head of humanitarian action at UN Women, said female-headed households are facing extremely difficult circumstances as limited access to aid, insecurity, and continued military operations force women to make difficult decisions over scarce resources and family survival.
UN Women reported that 246 Palestinian women and girls were killed in Gaza between October 2025 and July 28, 2026, following the ceasefire period, averaging nearly six women and girls killed each week.
The agency cited cases including 18-year-old Raghad Ashour, who was reportedly killed in an airstrike while traveling to a high school examination in Gaza City, as well as 31-year-old Dina al-Madhoun and a six-year-old girl who were reportedly killed in a strike on a displaced families’ camp in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis.
According to figures cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Gaza health authorities have reported 1,303 deaths and 4,336 injuries since the ceasefire agreement.
A UN Women analysis found that households led by women are more likely than male-headed households to face food shortages, lack of income, inadequate shelter, displacement, and loss or destruction of homes.
Meanwhile, most of Gaza’s estimated 2.1 million residents continue to face the effects of displacement, with OCHA reporting that 58% of the population is experiencing critical or catastrophic shelter needs.
UN Women called for humanitarian efforts to prioritize the needs of women and girls, particularly female heads of households, urging full implementation of the ceasefire and expanded, unhindered access for humanitarian aid across the Gaza Strip.
