Where is the humanity, when more than 38,000 women and girls in Gaza have been killed?
Remarks by Sofia Calltorp, UN Women Chief of Humanitarian Action – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
[As delivered.]
Geneva, 17 April 2026 – “Today, UN Women sheds further light on the enormous cost of the war in Gaza on women and girls. Our new analysis shows how the war has affected every aspect of life, with its most horrific toll seen in the scale of death.
“Between October 2023 and December 2025, more than 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza – the result of Israeli air bombardment and land military operations. This includes over 22,000 women and 16,000 girls, amounting to an average of at least 47 women and girls killed every day.
“Women and girls accounted for a proportion of deaths far higher than those observed in previous conflicts in Gaza. Those killed were mothers, they were daughters, sisters, and friends – deeply loved by those around them. They were individuals with lives and with dreams. During my visit to Gaza in November, I met with their loved ones – their children, husbands, and grandchildren who have been forced into extreme suffering.
“This suffering continues.”
“Despite the ceasefire announced in October 2025, more than 730 people have been reportedly killed, and more than 2,000 people have been injured over the past six months. We know that women and girls are among those killed, but there is a huge lack of sex- and age-disaggregated data.
“On top of a staggering death toll, nearly 11,000 women and girls in Gaza have sustained injuries so devastating that they survive only with lifelong disabilities.
“The war has reshaped families. Tens of thousands of households are now headed by women. Having lost their husbands, they are sustaining their families without income, without support, or access to essential services.
“Nearly one million women and girls have been displaced, repeatedly.
“Access to water and food have been severely limited, with nearly 790,000 women and girls experiencing crisis-level or catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
“Extensive damage to infrastructure has made it almost impossible for women and girls in Gaza to access their basic needs, like healthcare. A situation that is worsening due to the recent military escalation in the Middle East, as border crossing closures and humanitarian access constraints further reduce access to life-saving support.
“UN Women calls for the ceasefire to be fully implemented. Respect for international law must be upheld. There must be accountability for violations, and the protection of women and girls must be ensured.
“Humanitarian assistance must reach those in need – at scale and without obstruction. And women and girls must be placed at the centre of response and recovery efforts.
“As UN Women, we continue to work on the ground in Gaza with women-led and women’s rights organizations – supporting their efforts to deliver life-saving support. Ensuring that these organizations are funded, supported, and included in decision-making is critical to any meaningful recovery.
“International humanitarian and human rights law have not failed. The failure lies with those who choose to ignore these laws, with those who hold the power to enforce them, and with the profound lack of humanity that has allowed this horror in Gaza to continue.”
