Today marks the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), an annual international campaign led by civil society organizations (CSOs) worldwide to advocate for the prevention of violence against women and girls and to confront it as one of the most widespread human rights violations. While the world raises slogans of protection and equality, women in the Gaza Strip face a reality that far exceeds what the campaign can convey, as violence permeates all aspects of life and threatens their very right to exist. Women in Gaza struggle daily to survive amid repeated displacement, insecurity, loss of shelter, husbands, and children, and the collapse of protection systems and essential services. This campaign comes to expose the collapse of the world’s principles of protection, as the situation in Gaza reflects the harshest forms of compounded violence. Gaza’s women remain living witnesses to the absence of any effective international protection, fully exposed to the machine of war with no deterrent or guarantee of survival.
During the genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the IOF targeted women with every possible form of killing, whether through the direct bombardment of homes and streets or the deprivation of medical care and food. During the two years of genocide, more than 10,621 women lost their lives due to escalating Israeli violations,1 making the threat of death a daily reality for women in the Gaza Strip. This year, Israel’s severe starvation policy has become one of the cruelest chapters of suffering for women in the Gaza Strip, ravaging their bodies and the bodies of their children, and forcing them to risk their lives in search of a morsel to stave off hunger. As food scarcity intensified, women were forced to head to U.S. aid distribution centers in hope of survival, yet even there they found no safety: 38 women were killed while attempting to obtain food, in a scene that embodies the collapse of protection at the most basic and human moments of life.2
Mervat Mohammed Zidan (21) shared with PCHR’s staff how her mother went out in an attempt to save their lives from hunger, only to lose her life in the process, saying:
“At around 19:00 on Monday, 02 June 2025, my mother Reem Salama Zidan (46), my brother ‘Abed al-Rahman (17), and I left our tent on foot located near the social affairs headquarters in al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Yunis. At approximately 01:30 on Tuesday, 03 June 2025, we reached the Municipality Stadium near al-‘Alam Square in al-Mawasi area in Rafah, heading to the U.S. aid distribution center to get aid parcels, as there was no food in our tent and we had no money to buy any. The area was overcrowded with people. At around 04:00, the crowd began moving toward al-‘Alam Square, and we walked with them, holding each other’s hands. Suddenly, we were met with heavy gunfire, so we tried to take cover behind a small wall. During this, I heard a girl screaming. I turned and saw my mother lying on the ground. I tried to turn her over but could not, and then some young men helped me. There was a pool of blood around her, and she was bleeding from her head. I tried to speak to her, but she did not respond. A young man who said he was a nurse came and checked her, telling us she had no pulse and that my mother had been killed. I felt a deep shock and indescribable grief, as if my heart had stopped, and an emptiness overwhelmed me that I still feel to this day.”3
PCHR’s staff collected dozens of testimonies from women in the Gaza Strip who had been detained in Israeli prisons, revealing the severe sexual abuses they endured, including rape, harassment, strip searches, verbal abuse, and threats of rape. PCHR published a documented testimony of a female detainee who was raped four times by Israeli soldiers, repeatedly subjected to verbal abuse, stripped of her clothes, and filmed while naked—horrific and unimaginable scenes that surpass the limits of human comprehension.4 These violations leave deep psychological and physical scars that persist long after women are released, undermining their daily lives and their ability to exercise even the most basic rights, while also affecting their families and communities, thereby compounding the ongoing suffering of women in Gaza.
Nurse (A. M.) (30) recounted the sexual abuse she endured when Israeli soldiers raided Kamal ‘Adwan Hospital in December 2024:
“The IOF sent a young man, who was detained by them, to relay the orders of Israeli officers stationed inside the military tank. He demanded that we remove our hijabs and uncover our heads. Speaking on behalf of all the women, I responded firmly: “We will not remove our hijabs even if it costs us our lives.” The demand was repeated several times, and the soldiers tried to manipulate it by first targeting those under twenty, then those under fifteen, but the refusal was absolute each time. The pressure on us did not stop there. They attempted to take the children under the pretext of photographing them, but the mothers held onto them and refused despite the threats. The IOF then asked 20 female doctors and nurses to leave the hospital to identify themselves, promising to release the women. I stepped forward with 19 colleagues, carrying our identification cards, and we were taken to Al-Fakhoura School, which had been turned into a military barrack surrounded by tanks and soldiers. We were then interrogated one by one. A soldier pushed me toward the school’s bathroom, where the women were being interrogated. Inside the bathroom, there was an officer and two soldiers watching me with savage looks. The officer took my ID, then pushed me forcefully, causing me to fall to the ground. I nearly hit an iron rod, but thankfully I did not do harm. The officer looked at me angrily and said coldly: “Take off your clothes.” I felt my body trembling, as if the ground were shaking beneath my feet. I did not answer. The officer suddenly grabbed my jacket and yanked it off violently, throwing it on the ground. He then ordered me to lift my clothes for inspection. When I refused, he slapped me violently on the face. I felt severe pain in my cheek and feared he would slap me again. I could no longer endure it, so I was forced to lift my shirt, exposing my stomach and back in front of them- an act of humiliation unlike anything I had ever experienced. They did not stop there. The officer ordered me to pull down my pants. I lowered them slightly, and he then twisted my body violently while the two soldiers searched me. They found nothing, yet this did not deter them from continuing to degrade me. I left the bathroom quickly, trembling, trying to put my clothes back on with shaking hands… I later learned that my colleagues had also been interrogated, searched, and beaten. There were no exceptions; we were all victims of this humiliating scene.”5
Since the fragile ceasefire was declared, women in Gaza have not felt any sense of security, as the fear of renewed war haunts their daily lives amid ongoing Israeli violations. Many continue to lose their lives, while others lose their loved ones-husbands, children, and brothers-shattering their lives and forcing them into roles they did not choose but that have been brutally imposed upon them. Thousands of women have become the sole breadwinners for their families, bearing the responsibility of protecting their children and securing food, shelter, and medicine in an unforgiving reality. They have not even been given time to grieve or recover, as life has pushed them to the frontlines without preparation, amid the absence of any protection network that guarantees the right to survive with dignity.
Women in Gaza have been at the forefront of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. They have faced killings, injuries, and the devastating loss of husbands, children, and relatives, while their homes, communities, and sources of livelihood have been destroying, erasing stability and leaving deep, lasting scars. Most continue to live in worn-out tents that lack even the bare minimum of privacy and essential services, with conditions worsening as winter sets in. Many have been flooded by rain seeping into their tents, and the cold has become an imminent threat to their children, intensifying their constant sense of fear and insecurity.
At the same time, women with cancer, amputations, deformities, or other serious medical conditions are left waiting for the siege to end so they can access proper treatment abroad, as the local healthcare system remains unable to meet their specialized needs following its destruction during the war and the ongoing siege that prevents medical supplies from entering.
This suffering continues amid a lack of urgent reconstruction plans and diminished long-term international and institutional support, leaving women in a reality devoid of stability and security. These accumulating hardships have further complicated their lives, imposing immense challenges on their ability to resume daily routines. Every step toward recovery and stability is met with persistent obstacles, with no clear horizon in sight for the future.
In coincidence with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) emphasizes that women in the Gaza Strip continue to face a harsh reality of violence amid the absence of effective institutional and international protection. PCHR stresses that the impact of the genocide on women does not end with the cessation of war but continues to leave deep scars on their bodies and souls, affecting their daily lives and shaping the lives of future generations. This brutal reality underscores the urgent need to empower women to rebuild their lives, face the future with confidence, and restore their ability to live in dignity despite all they have lost during this war of genocide. Therefore, PCHR urges the international community to:
