This photo taken on May 20, 2025 shows a temporary shelter in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 20, 2025. More than 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, according to UN Women. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- More than 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, according to UN Women.
The figure means one woman and one girl on average were killed every hour in attacks by Israeli forces, said UN Women in a press release on Tuesday.
Among those killed, thousands were mothers, leaving behind devastated children, families and communities, said the UN body for gender equality and the empowerment of women, noting that the figures underscore the shattering human toll of the conflict, and of lives and futures lost too soon.
Since the ceasefire collapsed in March, conditions have deteriorated further in Gaza, compounded by nearly nine weeks of ongoing blockade on humanitarian aid, said the agency.
The entire population in Gaza is rapidly running out of food and essential supplies, with increasing risks of famine, which means every woman and girl is facing catastrophic levels of hunger. They are trapped, facing displacement, rising maternal mortality rates, and a severe lack of safety and protection mechanisms, it said.
The agency said that despite these dire circumstances, UN Women continues to work with women-led civil society organizations in Gaza, trying to deliver essential services and support to the affected populations, but the scale of the suffering far exceeds current capacity or resources.
Without an immediate significant surge in access to humanitarian aid, support and funding, countless lives hang in the balance, warned UN Women.
It called for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate restoration of unhindered humanitarian access, and the unconditional release of all hostages and those arbitrarily detained. ■
Displaced Palestinian children are pictured at a temporary shelter in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 20, 2025. More than 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, according to UN Women. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua)
Displaced Palestinian children are pictured at a temporary shelter in Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, on May 20, 2025. More than 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, according to UN Women. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua)
