Palestinian women and the premeditated intention to destroy them in the war of extermination in Gaza.

In this article, I will discuss the undeclared war against Palestinian women in Gaza, who are direct and indirect victims of a war of extermination, often reduced to the expression "collateral damage," something that would not occur without the conflict. The collateral damage, both immediate and long-term, suffered by the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is countless, diverse, and extremely dangerous. The most significant among them is the almost total destruction of the educational system. University students are unable to graduate, children and adolescents are unable to continue their studies or advance from one grade to the next, and school-age children are unable to attend kindergarten and subsequently begin primary school. All of this means the destruction of future generations, transforming them into unemployed people, people with disabilities, or people forced to emigrate.

I will shed light on the suffering of women and girls of childbearing age, in particular, to demonstrate how this segment of society has been subjected to physical and psychological destruction, as well as the jeopardizing of their future. How has the psychological state of these women been shaken to the point of losing all privacy and the minimum conditions to cope with basic life needs during menstruation, pregnancy, or childbirth? The suffering becomes even more acute for a woman after giving birth. She faces the existential challenge of keeping the child alive, ensuring adequate nutrition for healthy growth, and obtaining the necessary serums to protect it from diseases, in addition to providing basic hygiene supplies, diapers, and essential creams to prevent the appearance of blisters, skin infections, and other diseases that spread rapidly among children, such as diarrhea, jaundice, and meningitis.

Numbers, by themselves, do not reveal the whole truth.

The United Nations estimates that more than 28 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023—an average of one woman and one girl per hour in Israeli attacks. Among the victims are thousands of mothers, leaving behind devastated children and families.

Of the two million people temporarily displaced in Gaza, more than one million women and girls face catastrophic levels of hunger and displacement, high mortality rates, and a severe lack of security and protection mechanisms. The United Nations Population Fund, the leading UN agency responsible for reproductive health, has warned that an entire generation of women is being destroyed by ongoing killings, forced displacement, food and medicine deprivation, collapsing health systems, and the psychological stress and oppression that accompany this situation, all of which are reaching catastrophic proportions.

New data covering the first six months, from January to June 2025, released by the Gaza Ministry of Health, reveal a devastating picture of the impact of these conditions on the lives of women and newborns throughout the Gaza Strip:

In the first half of 2022, Gaza hospitals recorded 29 births. In the same period of 2025, only about 17 births were recorded—a 41% reduction. This sharp drop, after three years, would not have occurred without the war and its horrors.

Two hundred and twenty mothers died during this period — more than 20 times the total number of maternal deaths recorded in the entire year of 2022.

Regarding neonatal deaths, at least 20 newborns died within the first 24 hours after birth.

The risk of neonatal mortality increased by approximately 33% in the same age group compared to 2022.

Of those born during this period, 5.560 babies were premature, had low birth weight, or required admission to neonatal intensive care units.

These statistics highlight the serious challenges faced by mothers and newborns in an environment where healthcare is systematically compromised and where hunger and deprivation of basic needs contribute to these alarming outcomes.

After the ceasefire ended in March, the suffering of women doubled, especially after returning to their destroyed homes, often without a husband, father, or son. For example, in the first week after the ceasefire ended, between March 18 and 25, 830 people were killed, including 174 women and 322 children, while another 1.787 were injured.

This is not just about numbers; each individual is a human being with ambitions, dreams, and relationships. Every day, during that first week, an average of 21 women and more than 40 children were killed. This is not about “collateral damage”; this is about a war whose impact falls mainly on women and children, who represent almost 60% of the victims—a clear testament to the objectives of the Zionist entity behind this war of extermination.

According to International Humanitarian Law, every mother and every child has the right to a safe childbirth and a healthy start to life. However, what we witness is the systematic denial of these fundamental rights, pushing an entire generation to the brink of collapse, with survivors often marked by permanent disabilities.

All hospitals and health facilities in Gaza are closed or operating at a limited capacity. Their ability to keep mothers and newborns alive is increasingly compromised. Seventy percent of essential medicines are unavailable, and half of all medical equipment is damaged, severely limiting access to critical neonatal care. The collapse of referral systems, coupled with the extreme reduction in ambulance services and the severe shortage of transport, prevents pregnant women from receiving prenatal care or reaching hospitals to give birth, turning treatable complications into preventable deaths.

Despite the dire needs, humanitarian aid continues to face serious obstacles and is being prevented from entering Gaza at all crossings. For example, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) alone has 170 trucks loaded with essential supplies—including containerized birthing units, maternal health medicines, ultrasound equipment, and portable incubators—stuck at the border since the beginning of March 2025.

What explanation could there be for this rampant slaughter, other than the continuation of human genocide? The inability to allow unrestricted and sustained humanitarian access, without relying on armed distribution points overseen by Israel and the United States, can only be interpreted as a means of indirectly multiplying and perpetuating the killing.

And what about the women who haven't yet been killed? Are they living normal lives in the shadow of death? Besieged women and girls under constant threat of violence face extreme levels of fear, trauma, and exhaustion. Under these conditions, psychological suffering is widespread. UN data shows that 75% of women suffer from frequent depression, 62% are unable to sleep, and 65% experience nightmares and anxiety attacks. However, with limited access to care, most are left alone to cope with the situation. Furthermore, these women, even when depressed, need to care for their children. In Gaza, 77% of women are primarily responsible for feeding and caring for children.

In conclusion, we emphasize that the mental health of women in Gaza is collapsing. Pregnant women, mothers, and girls are particularly vulnerable. The emotional burden of supporting their families falls almost entirely on them. The war against women's health in Gaza is not only physical; it is also mental, emotional, and psychological.

For any war to be legally considered genocidal, two elements must be present: the act of genocide and the premeditated intent to commit it. I find no clearer evidence of these two elements than the systematic murder of women and girls and the deliberate intent to destroy them. Destroying women means destroying society—without room for ambiguity—and that is precisely what the racist colonizing entity called Israel seeks.