United Nations, January 20 (Prensa Latina) Two mothers die every hour in Gaza, while women and children make up 70 percent of victims of Israeli attacks, a warning released today by UN Women.
In its report “Gender Alert: The Gender Impact of the Crisis in Gaza,” the agency estimates that at least three thousand women may have become widowed and heads of households and are in urgent need of protection and food assistance.
Nearly 10,000 children have now lost their parents in a context where increasing numbers of women fear families are resorting to desperate measures to deal with the situation, including early marriage.
It is even more difficult for women to access care, services and resources, a problem that impacts families headed by women who have sole responsibility for feeding, protecting and supporting the family and none Have a job that brings them income.
Those who lost their husbands in the conflict now lack sole financial support from their families, the analysis warns.
While the number of women earning an income in Gaza was already low before the crisis, this number has fallen further in recent months, she continued.
According to the text, women and girls in the enclave are losing their lives while suffering catastrophic humanitarian needs.
They estimate that of the more than 24,000 civilians violently killed in the strip, 16,000 were women and children, while of the total displaced, nearly one million are women, although many stay at home and care for their family members. The family is unable to do so.
“Women and children are the first victims of conflict and our duty to seek peace is a duty to them. We are letting them down,” complained Sima Bahous, head of UN Women.
This failure and the intergenerational trauma inflicted on the Palestinian people in these 100 days will haunt us all for generations, the minister added in a statement.