‘Palestinian women at the heart of struggle for survival’
The Palestinian Authority has urged on International Women’s Day that the international community take responsibility for ensuring protection for Palestinian women.
Its Foreign Ministry highlighted that “519 days of Israel’s war on Gaza have resulted in the killings of more than 12,298 women with thousands more subjected to forced displacement”.
“Palestinian women stand at the heart of the struggle for survival, bearing the greatest burden of genocide, crimes against humanity, and attempts at forced displacement and ethnic cleansing,” the ministry said in a statement.
It added that 21 Palestinian women are currently being held in “harsh and inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons where they endure torture, solitary confinement, and medical neglect”.
More than 12,300 women killed in Gaza as world marks Women’s Day
The head of the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip, Salama Maarouf, says 12,316 women have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza.
“Women’s Day coincides with the continuation of the Israeli siege and the prevention of aid as women live in catastrophic humanitarian conditions and suffer from starvation and thirst,” Maarouf said.
Israel’s war also left 2,000 women and girls with permanent disabilities from amputations and 162 with infectious diseases, according to government data.
Additionally, 13,901 women were widowed and at least 17,000 mothers lost their children, while more than 50,000 pregnant women lost their unborn babies.
Women’s Day coincides with the continuation of the Israeli siege and the prevention of aid into Gaza
Killing of 12,000 women in Gaza a ‘stain on humanity’: Hamas
Hamas has reacted to a Gaza government tally of the number of women who were killed by Israel’s war.
“The killing of 12,000 women in Gaza, the injury and arrest of thousands, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands are a stain on humanity,” the group said. “Palestinian female prisoners are subjected to psychological and physical torture in flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions.”
Hamas added the suffering endured by Palestinian female prisoners revealed the “double standards” of Western countries, including the United States, in dealing with Palestinians.
Children will die if medical supplies not allowed into Gaza: UNICEF
Rosalia Bollen, from the UN’s children’s agency, says the Israeli blockade of Gaza risks undoing much of the work humanitarian organisations have been able to complete during the ceasefire.
“It’s not just the aid that is halted from coming into Gaza, it’s also fuel,” she said. “Gaza doesn’t have access … to sufficient electricity and that means its critical infrastructure – from desalination plants to hospitals – are dependent on the entry of fuel.”
She highlighted the urgent need to “scale up water production [and] fuel is a key element for that”.
Bollen said the “real-life consequences” of halting the entry of medical supplies will be that Palestinian children will die.
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes. A couple of months ago … we saw a very small baby that was born at 28 weeks. That baby died after three weeks because of a lack of ventilators and CPAP machines in that hospital.”
Palestinians wait in line to receive food at Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza
