Women in Gaza urgently need cease-fire: UN women chief

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Sunday highlighted the difficulties experienced by women in Gaza, stressing the urgent need for a cease-fire in the region.

"Women in Gaza give birth without water. They have no food, no tents, no toilets. They are living the unimaginable," Bahous said on X.

"What women in Gaza need right now is a ceasefire and relief," she added.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, more than 9,000 women have lost their lives, and over 23,000 women have been injured in the ongoing attacks by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip.

The fate of over 2,000 missing women in Gaza remains unknown.

Additionally, the collapse of Gaza's healthcare system due to Israeli attacks has left approximately 60,000 pregnant women unable to access healthcare services, putting the lives of both Palestinian women and their babies at risk.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since Oct. 7 and imposed a crippling blockade that left most of the population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.