The United Nations (UN) Women said, there will be “more death and despair for 700,000 women and girls” if Israel goes ahead with its “intensified military invasion of Rafah” in the Gaza Strip.
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| Girls peep through a window in a destroyed building in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP |
The United Nations entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment also said, “We demand an immediate ceasefire in #Gaza” as well as “release of all hostages”.
Via a press release on Monday 6 May, 2024, the UN Women said, the population of Rafah in Gaza has increased immensely “from 250,000 to 1.4 million people”, adding, “in just seven months of war, the physical and mental health conditions for women and girls have been deteriorating rapidly”.
According to UN Women: “Intensified military operations in #Rafah will bring more death and despair for 700,000 women and girls.
We demand an immediate ceasefire in #Gaza, the release of all hostages, and safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.”
The Press Release in part (UN Women):
Intensified military operations will bring increased death and despair for Rafah’s 700,000 women and girls
Monday, 6 May 2024
New UN Women survey data from Rafah highlights the depth of physical and mental despair, with 93% of women interviewed feeling unsafe and over half reporting medical conditions requiring urgent attention. With any Israeli ground invasion, these numbers will soar.
With the population of the southern city of Rafah, in Gaza, ballooning fivefold, from 250,000 to 1.4 million people, in just seven months of war, the physical and mental health conditions for women and girls have been deteriorating rapidly, as new data collected by UN Women reveals. The imminent risk of death and injuries among Rafah’s 700,000 women and girls will escalate with any ground invasion, as they have nowhere to go, to escape the bombing and killing.
More than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, among them 6,000 mothers leaving 19,000 orphaned children behind. As a 45-year-old woman describes: “There is no safety or security. I am scared for my life, my husband’s, and my children’s. If I were to talk about it for the next 100 years, I cannot describe the fear we live in”.
UN Women’s survey data sheds light on the devastating reality of life for women and girls in Rafah:
- Rafah now hosts 700,000 women and girls who have nowhere else to go. 93 per cent of women respondents express feeling unsafe within their own homes or displaced locations.
- Over 80 per cent of women report feelings of depression, 66 per cent are not able to sleep, and over 70 per cent have heightened anxiety and nightmares.
Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said, Israel will go ahead with the ground military invasion of Rafah “with or without a deal” so as to “achieve complete victory” over Hamas.
