Today, 25 November, the world launches the 16 Days of Activism to end violence against women and girls. This Campaign starts on 25 November, the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day, as it comes this year in a time women in the Gaza Strip carry the burden of grief, unprecedented struggles and surge of Israel’s violence.
Since 07 October 2023 and for 400 consecutive days, IOF continue their genocide against the people of the Gaza Strip, particularly women and girls, with a clear intent to target them as part of this genocide. There is no safe place in the whole Gaza Strip as Israel’s war machine has targeted with indiscriminate land, sea and air bombardment all places where women and girls have sought refuge in pursuit of safety. Houses, shelters and even tents have been targeted with IDPs inside, including women, with the aim of depopulating northern Gaza amid further tightening of the siege imposed on the entire Gaza Strip and blocking as well as limiting humanitarian aid supplies telling a devastating starvation looming. Moreover, statements by Israeli leaders confirm a clear intent to target the Palestinian people with no distinction, including women and girls, as part of a systematic policy of mass killing, displacement of families forced to leave their houses, starvation and blockade of humanitarian aid. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu quoted from the bible the story of “Amalek” being eliminated by the Israelis saying, “They are committed to eradicating this evil from the world, for our existence, and I add, for the good of all humanity. Remember what Amalek did to you. We remember and we fight.”[1] In another message to the Israeli soldiers and officers on 03 November 2023, Netanyahu reiterated reference to “Amalek” saying, ” Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.”[2]
Over more than a year of relentless Israeli military attacks, at least 11,979 women have been killed; as a result, 6000 families have lost their mothers. Last week only, IOF killed 27 women reflecting only part of the crimes our researchers could document.
We cannot fail to mention our dearest colleagues at PCHR, lawyer Nour Abu al-Nour (30) and her 2-year-old baby girl Kenzi Jom’ah, whom we have lost in an Israeli airstrike on their house last February. Nour had worked at PCHR since 2019 and she was holder of master’s degree in law, dedicating all her efforts to distinctive humanitarian work until the last moments of her life.
Despite all the dire conditions she had lived and having to evacuate her house to her family’s due to the damage inflicted by Israeli bombardment on her house in Rafah, Nour continued to document the Israeli violations against women and children and provided legal consultations to women in shelters. We cannot also forget our dearest colleague and lawyer, Dana Mesh’al Yaghi (27) who was killed on 22 February 2024. Dana had evacuated from Tal al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza to her aunt’s house in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip following IOF’s displacement orders, but unfortunately, she along with her family and IDPs had found themselves under Israel’s targeted attacks.
Killing Nour and Dana is a vivid example that Israel’s war machine has greenlighted the killing of women and children, including human rights defenders and their families becoming themselves victims of this aggression and ongoing genocidal campaign. We emphasize that killing women in Gaza is not a collateral damage of military attack but embodies a deliberate genocidal strategy genocide aimed at the dispossession of the Palestinian people.
Moreover, hundreds of women sustained critical physical injuries. According to PCHR’s documentation and testimonies they received, these injuries include amputations, severe burns, head and face injuries, eye injuries and loss of any of the five senses, including blindness.
These injuries have also caused partial or complete paralysis due to spinal and vertebral injuries in addition to respiratory injuries after women had been exposed to toxic gases like white phosphorus and smoke caused by bombardment and explosions. All of this occurs while hospitals and medical centers suffer from chronic shortage of treatment and services due to the Israeli strangulating siege and systematic attacks on the healthcare System in Gaza. As a result, no necessary medical care is provided, rendering non-fatal injuries a life-long challenge. With all of this, women’s bodies have become battlefields bearing witness to an intentional genocide against the people of the Gaza Strip.
In addition to the direct threat to their lives, women in Gaza are confronted with the alarming risk of being arbitrarily arrested; during which, they endure severe physical and psychological abuses, including strip searches, physical torture such as beating, tying their hands and feet, and blindfolding them for long time in uncomfortable positions, as reported in testimonies obtained by PCHR from many released women. Also, psychological torture is used in painful ways such as threats of sexual assault and threats of retaliation against their family members or children. Moreover, they are denied necessary healthcare, even in critical cases that require urgent intervention leading to the deterioration of their health conditions, especially for women with chronic diseases. They are also deprived of communication with their families and subjected to verbal abuse, humiliation, and insults. The physical and psychological abuses that women in Gaza endure during detention leaves lasting physical and mental scars, even after their release. This significantly affects their daily lives and increases their suffering. In a poignant painful story, the detainee H. M. (34), single woman and resident of northern Gaza Strip, shared her harrowing experience in the Israeli detention: “I was arrested on 03 December 2023 while my family and I evacuated to the south via the so-called “safe corridor” due to the intense bombing. At the checkpoint, an Israeli soldier called me, and a female soldier began pushing me. She handcuffed
me with plastic zip ties, tied my feet with steel cuffs, and blindfolded me with a piece of cloth. I was then forced to walk while the female soldier pushing me with her weapon to my back and hurling the worst insults. (H. M.) recalls what happened after: “The female soldier searched me and forced me to take off all my clothes at gunpoint. During the interrogation, I was beaten on the back of my head with a wide wooden stick and hurled insults on my honor. They threatened to bomb my house if I did not answer their questions and played recordings of people being tortured to scare me. They also left me under the sun from 10:00 until 18:00. Regarding the degrading treatment during her detention, she said: “The conditions in the detention were inhuman. I was given a thin mattress and only one blanket. As for food, we were given very small portions. Breakfast was Labneh with a loaf of toast, lunch was spoiled and inedible, and dinner was a burnt egg and bread. As for the bathroom, we were allowed to use the bathroom while handcuffed and only for 15 minutes.” She concluded her testimony by describing her mental state: “Every day, the scenes of the interrogation and torture come back to my mind like an endless nightmare. The detention left me scars that will never heal and still affects me to this day.[3]”
Although all women in the Gaza Strip are subjected to serious violations of their rights as civilians, what was documented by PCHR unfolds an even graver crime: Israel’s measures intended to prevent births within Gaza Strip. These measures include lack of protection from military attacks, deterioration of essential health services and difficult access to these services, in addition to restrictions on adequate food and dire living conditions elevating risks during pregnancy. The testimonies documented by PCHR reveal a heinous crime in which miscarriages, preterm labors and stillbirths have increased among pregnant women, while other women face serious health complications, increasing their fears of losing their fetuses or even facing the risk of death.[4]
Women in Gaza have been trapped in a severe humanitarian crisis since IOF imposed a full siege on the Gaza Strip at the beginning of their military aggression, which was more stringent in northern Gaza Strip. IOF have used starvation as a weapon of war in an attempt to entrench the crime of genocide, based on a political will and declared intent from senior Israeli leaders. On 09 October 2023, Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant said, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.[5]“
Women in the Gaza Strip particularly suffer from the Israeli starvation policy. While all Gazans endure the effects of these policies, women bear the heaviest brunt due to the gender-based social roles they are responsible for, including caring for children and the elderly, as well as preparing food. Additionally, pregnant and breastfeeding women face extra challenges, as their nutritional needs are doubled to sustain their health and the health of their children.
In this context, Fulla Hamed Mousa Hamam (40), mother of three children, said to PCHR’s staff: “In early February 2024, the situation was getting worse. During that time, we had to grind wheat and barley and eat them without any additions. Then, we began grinding corn that was used as animals feed. The taste of these grains was very bad and hard to swallow. At first, my children refused to eat them, but later they had to because of extreme hunger. I didn’t eat in order to save food for my children. We ate only one meal a day and went to bed hungry. Potable water was not available, so we drank salty water. My children’s skin became pale, their faces yellowed, and their eyes sunken. We lost a lot of weight, hurting me a lot to see my children as a mother like this[6].”
At the same time, women and girls are living in dire and humiliating conditions due to ongoing displacement and destruction. Estimates indicate that around one million women and girls have been displaced, with thousands of them forced to evacuate multiple times without money, property, or places to seek refuge in. Some live in tents or shelters overcrowded with displaced people, while others find themselves forced to stay in open areas like Tamam Mostafa Ahmed Faraj Allah (48), a mother of 3 children and was displaced from al-Moghraqah area to Rafah due to intense bombing. Tamam and her children had to live in an open area, seeking safety. She said: “When we went to Rafah, we had nothing, not even a blanket to protect us from the cold. We found an open area where my husband, my three children, and I stayed for 9 days. During the first nine days of our displacement, it rained heavily, so we had to put anything we could find over our heads until the rain stopped. We were flooded with rainwater. Our neighbors would sometime feel sorry for us and host us into their tents until the rain stopped.[7]”
In such environments which lack life essentials, maintaining privacy becomes almost impossible. Women are forced to share cramped and unsafe spaces with large numbers of displaced people, including strangers. This situation exposes women and girls to increased risks, both in terms of personal safety and the spread of diseases that they are more likely to experience. Twenty-five percent of them suffer from skin and health problems, twice as much as men. Women also represent the majority of hepatitis A and gastrointestinal diseases.[8] These challenges are clearly exacerbated while meeting their basic needs and maintaining their personal hygiene in the absence of clean water and adequate sanitation facilities. Amina al-‘Abed Mohammed Abu Baid (63) shares part of these challenges with PCHR’s staff: “I live with 15 of my children and grandchildren in a tent. We all sleep here, crowded together, and we have to sleep on cardboard.” She adds: “The hardest thing we face as women during displacement is maintaining our personal hygiene. We made a toilet using a bucket to relieve ourselves, and then we clean ourselves with a small amount of water. As for bathing, I take showers inside the tent once every 10 days due to the scarcity of soap and clean water, and the lack of privacy. It’s very difficult and makes me tense while bathing.[9]”
In addition to the ongoing suffering, women in Gaza shoulder new responsibilities that exaggerate their suffering under the dire conditions. The loss of the primary breadwinner has placed heavy and unfamiliar burdens on them, as they find themselves having to meet the needs of their families amidst difficult access to basic resources and the absence of job opportunities.
This situation has forced many women to take on exhausting and arduous tasks, such as collecting firewood as an alternative energy source due to the fuel shortage and waiting in long lines for food aid and water. These efforts drain their energy and affect their physical and mental health, further intensifying their economic burdens and pushing them deeper into a cycle of poverty and deprivation. Israa’ Ahmed Khader ‘Obaid (31), a mother of 7 children, said to PCHR’s staff: “My husband was killed on 11 December 2023. Since his death, I have shouldered all the responsibilities. I collect firewood and cardboard from the street, stand in long lines for water, and if I do not make it on time, I miss my share. I also stand for hours in the bread line, exhausted, and I have no choice but to pretend to be strong for my children[10].”
While women in Gaza are experiencing this profound pain, they also endure enormous psychological stress due to the constant threats to their lives and the lives of their beloved ones, the destruction of their houses, and the loss of their children. This increases anxiety and depression in the absence of the necessary psychological support. The loss of children is one of the most significant factors affecting the mental health of women in Gaza. Additionally, mothers in Gaza are devastated daily by the loss of their children due to the relentless bombardment, and they face enormous psychological stress due to their inability to protect their children. This feeling of guilt adds to the initial trauma of losing them. Sabreen Jaber Yousef Abu Shanab (32) said after losing three of her sons in an artillery shell attack on 11 December 2023 while they were going to buy biscuits in front of the shelter where they sought refuge: “I was informed about the killing of my three children, ‘Abed al-Rahman, Maryam, and Munatallah. At that moment, I felt like I would lose my mind, and my heart almost stopped from the shock. Since their death, I’ve been in severe mental shock, sometimes separating me from real life. I don’t want flour or water to drink, I just want my children back.”
PCHR reiterates that Israel’s continuation of its military aggression and disregard for all demands to stop genocide on Gaza is as a result of Israel’s entrenched impunity granted by the United States and Western allies amid the latter’s complicity in serious violations against the Palestinian people through weapon supplies and political support to the Israeli occupation. Thus, PCHR calls on:
[1] Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu during an official press conference broadcasted on Israel PM Youtube Channel: Minute (01:37- 02:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIPkoDk6isc
[2] South Africa Vs Israel Case before the International Court of Justice on Israeli alleged violations of its obligations under the Convention of Genocide in the Gaza Strip. Page 60.
[3] Testimony taken by PCHR’s staff on 12 February 2024 in Rafah.
[4] See PCHR’s report: “ Israel’s measures intended to prevent births within Gaza Strip”.
[5] Statement by Yoav Gallant (2024. October 9). We are fighting human animals – and we act accordingly. We are laying siege to Gaza City” – Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant (Translation)
[6] Testimony taken by PCHR’s staff on 21 November 2024 in Gaza School for Girls in Gaza City.
[7] Testimony taken by PCHR’s staff on 06 March 2024 in Rafah.
[8] Women of Gaza: A year in crisis.
[9] Testimony taken by PCHR’s staff on 21 November 2024 in Gaza School for Girls in Gaza City.
[10] Testimony taken by PCHR’s staff on 20 November 2024 in Gaza New School in western Gaza City.
