In the relentless onslaught on Gaza by Israel's military, the toll has reached a devastating number, with over 30,000 precious lives lost. Shockingly, a staggering 70% of these victims are women and children, amplifying the anguish and calling for immediate intervention to halt this atrocity.
Throughout history, women and girls have suffered disproportionately in wars, apartheid, and genocides. In Gaza, the dire situation, marked by a lack of access to hygiene, medicine, prenatal care, and period supplies, is painfully evident to the world.
Prior to October 7th, 94,000 women and girls in the Gaza strip already lacked access to sexual and reproductive health services due to the siege imposed by Israeli forces, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This figure has now risen to over 1 million in under five months, during the current attack on Gaza.
The United Nations approximated that around 50,000 pregnant women resided in Gaza at the time of the initial siege on October 7, with an estimated 183 women giving birth daily since that event. Alarmingly, 15% of these births would likely experience complications during the ongoing attack.
Amidst starvation, bombardment and siege, women in Gaza endure childbirth alone, lacking vital medical aid. Disturbingly, some undergo cesarean sections without anesthesia, adding to their anguish.
Being pregnant in Gaza at such times has been tough by all standards. Some challenges lie in the fear of losing the fetus, especially due to the lack of necessary dietary diversity for fetal growth.
A 25-year-old dentist from Gaza who lost her job during the attack, Mona Al Hamarnah struggles with the fear of being pregnant under such harsh conditions. She fears losing her baby, losing access to nutrition, and losing access to doctors and nurses for medical check-ups. Those fears weigh heavily on her. Battling iron deficiency anemia, she copes by sharing household duties with her husband and seeking rest amidst the arduous journeys during forced evacuations, all made more difficult by calcium and iron deficiencies as her due date nears.
"I have been displaced three times. First, from Al-Bureij refugee camp to Al-Nuseirat camp, then to Al-Maghazi camp, and finally to Rafah City. Yes, there were transportation options available, but the cost was prohibitively high. All three displacements occurred during my pregnancy. I am also afraid for the fetus's health, due to the surrounding conditions and my previous experience of losing my first baby in the eighth month. I am worried for the future because of the lack of necessary medical services and the unavailability of anesthesia for cesarean section," said Mona.
Mona launched a GoFundMe campaign with her husband, trying to gather money to register at Ya Hala travel company and leave Gaza. She hopes that if the campaign succeeds, she will deliver her baby in Egypt, where better medical care is offered and where there is no bombing and no hostile soldiers invading.
Another young mother, Wa’d Abu Tilak, tells a similar story. “Whenever there was bombardment during my pregnancy, I used to bleed as a result of my intense, sudden fear and anxiety. I was afraid I would deliver my baby girl before her due time. I was informed that this is a big possibility, but thanks to God, I delivered my baby on time. But the problem is I cannot properly feed my baby, Ghazal’s body is weak. She is now four months old, and I barely can manage to purchase her milk, diapers, and winter clothes, due to the shortages and extremely high prices,” Wa’d told Stated.
Wa’d is afraid her little baby will suffer from malnutrition, from which children in Gaza are dying. Her daughter was born experiencing respiratory distress, possibly due to the mother’s exposure to smoke from the bombing. Wa’d is concerned that she might have been exposed to white phosphorus in particular, but she is worried that the air is unhealthy and contaminated in general.
“My daughter did not receive all of the vaccines she should have, as there are also severe shortages in medical supplies in Gaza. That might, God forbid, affect her immunity and make it so easy to catch illness in such a very unhealthy environment in Gaza, where people struggle with taking care of their personal hygiene,” Wa’d added.
Unfortunately, women in Gaza are not only struggling with healthcare, fear of being killed, witnessing killings, and losing loved ones, but also with rape by Israeli soldiers, threats of being raped, and sexual harassment.
According to ohchr, the situation is dire for thousands of Palestinian women and girls, including human rights defenders, journalists, and aid workers, detained arbitrarily since October 7th in Gaza and in the West Bank. Reports reveal horrifying treatment, with many denied basic necessities, like menstrual pads, food, and medicine, and subjected to severe beatings. Shockingly, some women (and men) were kept in cages in the rain and cold without food.
Distressingly, there are reports of sexual assault, including strip searches by male Israeli soldiers, two reported rapes, and cases where women were threatened with rape if they didn’t comply with Israeli soldiers' orders. The suffering is compounded by the invasion of privacy, as photos of women in degrading situations were taken and shared online by the Israeli army. This is a grave violation of human rights, causing immense emotional anguish and deepening the trauma of those affected.
Abd, a male detainee, later released, made this report: “While I was detained by Israeli soldiers, I saw two women also detained. They were handcuffed, bound and blindfolded, and dressed in gray detainee attire, which all detainees from Gaza are forced to wear, distinguishing them from others. Any soldier had the right to beat and humiliate in any manner those wearing gray attire. I witnessed the two women being dragged by their necks. When I was in the jail with other civilian men detained from Gaza, we could hear Palestinian women yelling and screaming. We don't know what was exactly happening, but we are sure they were being beaten and tortured.”
The testimonies of Mona, Wa’d, and countless others show the harrowing effect of the ongoing conflict on Palestinian womens’ lives. We need an urgent intervention, and accountability from the global community.