The population of the Gaza Strip is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the ongoing war of extermination waged by the Israeli occupation, alongside the imposition of a systematic starvation policy affecting over two million besieged individuals in the Strip. Since the onset of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023, the already severe blockade imposed since 2005 has escalated to its peak with the complete closure of all border crossings since early March 2025. This has led to the prevention of entry of basic food supplies, humanitarian and medical aid, and all commercial goods, exacerbating the collapse of living, health, and humanitarian conditions in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
The death toll in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 60,000 martyrs, including over 12,400 women, nearly 7,000 of whom were mothers, and more than 18,000 children. The number of injured has surpassed 143,000, with women and children accounting for 70% of the casualties. More than 11,000 cases of missing persons have been reported, including over 4,700 women and children, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Additionally, more than 15,000 widowed women are living under dire humanitarian conditions, struggling against poverty, hunger, and insecurity to provide the bare minimum of life’s necessities for their children.
According to the latest joint analysis released by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) in May 2025, Gaza is currently classified at Phase 4 (Emergency) of food insecurity, with approximately 22% of the population, around 470,000 people, experiencing Phase 5 (Catastrophe/Famine), the most severe level of food insecurity. This coincides with the announcement by the Palestinian Ministry of Health of the death of 620 people from hunger since the beginning of the war, including 80 children, and the death of 70 people since June alone, indicating a dangerously accelerating famine crisis and the use of starvation as a weapon against civilians.
Amid this total collapse of food security and the progression into advanced famine stages, approximately 90,000 women and children are at risk of dying from hunger. Over 55,000 pregnant women face the dangers of starvation and malnutrition in the absence of medical care. Elderly women, those with chronic illnesses such as cancer, breastfeeding mothers, and women with disabilities are experiencing an unprecedented deterioration in health and living conditions. UNICEF data indicates that more than 112 children are being transferred to hospitals daily due to complications of malnutrition, an alarming sign of an imminent health disaster threatening tens of thousands of children.
The practices of the Israeli occupation against the population of Gaza, especially women and children, constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law, which classifies women as protected persons under the Geneva Conventions and obliges parties to a conflict to ensure their care and protection, particularly in times of war and emergency.
The 1974 United Nations Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict clearly affirms the obligation to refrain from any actions that endanger the lives of women and children. It mandates all parties to provide food, medicine, and necessary medical care, and it prohibits the use of starvation or deprivation as a means of warfare or collective punishment. Thus, current Israeli practices against the women and children of Gaza represent a blatant breach of all international agreements.
Accordingly, the Women’s Sector at the Palestinian NGOs Network warns of the continuation of the systematic starvation policies imposed by the Israeli occupation and the severe restrictions on the entry of food and medical aid, especially those intended for pregnant women, infants, and children. This situation poses a direct threat to their lives and exacerbates their daily suffering.
The Sector calls on international and United Nations institutions, and the global community at large, to urgently intervene to stop the war of extermination in Gaza, end the systematic starvation policy, fully and permanently reopen the crossings, and allow the immediate and unrestricted entry of humanitarian and medical aid to secure the minimum conditions for a dignified life for women and children.
The Women’s Sector at the Palestinian NGOs Network also stresses the need to hold the Israeli occupation accountable for its grave violations of international humanitarian law, including the use of starvation as a weapon of war against civilians, and calls for referring these crimes to the International Criminal Court to ensure justice.
