GAZA (ALETIHAD)
The United Nations has reported that the majority of the war victims in the Gaza Strip are women and children, with their numbers exceeding 16,000 out of a total exceeding 25,000. The United Nations Agency for gender equality highlighted the grim statistic, stating that “two mothers are killed every hour in this war,” and noted that around 3,000 women have become widows, now solely responsible for their families, and 10,000 children have been orphaned.
The UN report emphasised the hardships women face due to displacement from one region to another under very challenging circumstances, with nearly a million women and girls seeking shelter and safety. United Nations statistics indicate that of the 2.3 million Palestinians residing in the Gaza Strip, 1.9 million have been displaced due to the conflict.
Sima Bahouth, Executive Director of UN Women, remarked that prior to October 7, 2023, 67% of the civilian fatalities in Gaza and the West Bank were men, but this percentage has risen during the current conflict.
Bahouth reiterated the UN Secretary-General’s calls for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds and the immediate release of all detainees.
In a statement accompanying the report, she expressed her grief over the plight of women and girls in Gaza, adding that it will only deepen without the arrival of humanitarian aid and an end to the destruction and killings.
She further added that women and girls in Gaza are deprived of safety, medicine, healthcare, and shelter, facing famine and, beyond that, a deprivation of hope and justice.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 75% of the victims in the Gaza Strip are women and children, with the total number of victims surpassing 25,000.
In related news, the captain of a French warship revealed that approximately a thousand individuals from the Gaza Strip are receiving treatment in a field hospital on board the ship, anchored off the coast of Egypt, providing some relief amidst the collapse of the health infrastructure in the war-torn region.
The French helicopter carrier, stationed in the port of El-Arish in Egypt, 50 kilometres west of the Gaza Strip since November, is equipped with medical facilities and a crew of 70.
The captain stated that about 120 injured individuals had been transferred to the ship’s hospital, while hundreds more received consultations in outpatient clinics, including follow-ups for injuries and psychological issues, describing the mission as “unprecedented”.
The World Health Organisation reported that Gazans are struggling to receive medical care, with tens of thousands injured and most of the region’s 36 hospitals out of service. Those still operational are working far beyond their capacity.
In response, Italy dispatched a similar floating hospital to the Egyptian shores in December.