In a statement on Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council revealed that approximately two-thirds of the victims killed in Gaza as a result of Israeli aggression are women and children.
During the council briefing, speakers underscored the dire situation facing women and children in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing the acute stresses and needs of mothers. Gaza was described as the most perilous place globally for a child to live.
Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), highlighted the disproportionate impact of armed conflicts on women and girls. Since October seventh, 67 percent of the over 14,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza have been women and children, translating to the tragic loss of two mothers every hour and seven women every two hours.
Bahous detailed the harrowing conditions, citing instances where 180 women give birth daily without access to essential resources such as water, painkillers, anesthesia for C-sections, electricity for incubators, or medical supplies. Mothers, in their sacrifice, forego food to ensure their children survive another day.
Expressing the heart-wrenching reality faced by women in Gaza, Bahous shared that some pray for peace, and if that does not materialize, they pray for a swift death, preferably in their sleep, holding their children. She underscored the collective shame that should be felt when any mother, anywhere, harbors such prayers.
Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), echoed the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire and emphasized that mere pauses are insufficient for children to survive. She stressed that no place in the Gaza Strip is deemed safe, painting a grim picture of the perilous environment for the region’s children.
