New ActionAid Ireland report highlights harrowing impact of war and violence on women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank, and warns of the risk to civilians from regional violence

• ActionAid Ireland calls for immediate permanent ceasefire in Gaza to end the suffering of over two million people; the cessation of violence against civilians in Lebanon and the wider region, and the immediate release of all hostages
• ActionAid Ireland highlights the devastating toll on women’s rights and calls for the vital role of women-led organisations in Palestine to be recognised
• ActionAid Ireland says Ireland must enact the Occupied Territories Bill

A new report from ActionAid Ireland exposes the harrowing and dire impact of the bombardment of Gaza and violence in the West Bank on hundreds of thousands of Palestinian on women and girls who face death, horrific violence, forced displacement and sexual and gender-based violence on a daily basis.

Titled “Agents of change: The role of Palestine’s women-led organisations in crisis”, the report highlights that in January 2024, two mothers have been killed every hour in Gaza since the start of the war, and it outlines the huge emotional and psychological toll violence and conflict are having on women and girls. It says there is a critical lack of maternal health services despite the fact that an average of 183 babies are born in Gaza every day, or one every ten minutes.

The report draws on firsthand testimonies from women (see case studies below) living in Gaza and the West Bank, including activists and leaders, describing the severe challenges they face and the extraordinary resilience they demonstrate daily as they drive community recovery and advocate for a just peace.

ActionAid Ireland CEO, Karol Balfe, said today: “When this war broke out a year ago nobody envisaged that 12 months later the killing of innocent people would be continuing and that over 41,000 would be dead. This has been a nightmare for innocent people who have endured unimaginable suffering and terror. Gaza has been almost obliterated. Normal daily life has stopped. People are living in hell. But we must also remember that October 7^th marks one year since the horrendous attacks by Hamas on Israel, resulting in the killings of over 1,200 people and the taking of hostages.”

Ms Balfe said: “Of those killed in Gaza over 6,000 are women, 11,000 children and 1,000s more unaccounted for under the rubble. Palestinians in Gaza have been starved by a deliberate strategy of impeding aid. An estimated 50,000 children aged between six months and five years are suffering from malnutrition. More than 19,000 children have become orphaned. One million women are now going without the hygiene supplies they need, and 60% of homes have been destroyed.”

She added: “The impact on women’s lives and their rights is profound. Women have been killed in record numbers, denied crucial maternal health care, the basics for dignity when menstruating and face rising gender-based violence. In addition to this the destruction of Gaza by Israel has resulted in the collapse of the legal and protection systems, leading to an overall regression for gender equality. Despite these challenges, Palestinian women have emerged as leaders in their communities, managing displacement camps, providing critical services, and advocating for resources”.

Ms Balfe said world leaders have the power to halt the atrocities. But to date they have disgracefully failed to act.

“It is to the world’s shame that world leaders have not stopped this violence in Gaza and the West Bank. The crisis in Lebanon and its deadly impact on civilians is a direct consequence of the failure of the international community to hold Israel to account.”

Ms Balfe said the solution to stopping this carnage massively lies with America, who in the face of the risk of genocide, famine and war crimes continues to supply Israel with arms.

“Not a single sanction is in place against Israeli political or military leaders and the EU has not suspended its preferential trade agreement with Israel, despite a human rights clause. Ireland now needs to pass the Occupied Territories Bill, which would result in a complete ban on the import of goods and services produced in illegal settlements, including from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This would send a very strong signal from the people of Ireland that what is happening is inhuman and unacceptable.”

Key findings of the report include:

The indiscriminate and deliberate killing of women and children by Israel in record numbers:

• As of October 2024, Israeli bombings and attacks have killed 6,297 women and 11,355 children, representing a catastrophic level of loss and suffering.

• In January 2024, UN Women reported that two mothers had been killed every hour in Gaza since the beginning of the war.

A war on women’s health, particularly maternal healthcare:

• An estimated 183 women give birth every day in Gaza, with a baby being every ten minutes. Yet, just two of the 12 partially functioning hospitals in Gaza are able to provide maternity services, compared to a total of 36 hospitals that were functioning before October 2023.

• Palestinian women are forced to give birth without adequate care, including undergoing caesareans and emergency operations without sterilisation, anesthesia or painkillers. Dr Adnan Radi at Al-Awda hospital in Gaza reported: “a sharp increase in the rate of [high-risk] pregnancies, complications [relating to] premature birth, an increase in miscarriages and problems such as infections, sepsis, bleeding, and others.”

• Access to adequate sexual and reproductive healthcare is virtually impossible in Gaza, with one women’s health centre manager commenting: “inserting an IUD is not possible due to the lack of sterilization of the materials needed by the doctor.”

• According to UNRWA, there are an estimated 690,000 menstruating women and girls in Gaza. The report says the lack of access to sanitary products, clean water and privacy for Palestinian women and girls is a serious protection concern.

Rising Gender-Based Violence and a total collapse of legal remedy and protection services:

• The ongoing war in Gaza has exacerbated the threats women face, heightening the risk of sexual and gender-based violence, forced marriage, and exploitation. Women in displacement camps report a stark loss of privacy and safety, often facing harassment and abuse in overcrowded shelters, with one focus group participant noting: “In the past, walls were our cover, today it’s just a piece of nylon”.

• In the West Bank, women face violence from both Israeli soldiers and settlers. Recalling one incident, an activist from Hebron said her neighbour was “taken inside a room [by Israeli soldiers] all her clothes [were] taken off and [they] let [a] dog attack her, in front of her husband and kids.”

• There has been an acute loss of safe spaces and gender-specific support for survivors. Access to safe spaces and support for women experiencing sexual and gender-based violence has hugely reduced due to repeated forced displacements, lack of funding and communications challenges. As the leader of one women-led organisation in Gaza said: “Some women got divorced during the war, we couldn’t support as we used to do, there were no communication mechanisms, our staff were not able to reach them”. The complete collapse of Gaza’s legal system has created a legal vacuum, leaving women unable to obtain justice.

Unseen Emotional and Psychological Toll:

• The war in Gaza affects disproportionately Palestinian women, experiencing extreme levels of stress, anxiety, and trauma. Constant displacement has placed women in a perpetual state of instability, with one 16-year-old girl stating, “We don’t know where to go to find security.” The crowded living conditions exacerbate tensions, with another girl expressing: “No one can tolerate the other.”

Additional workload and responsibilities:

• Women living in Gaza’s displacement camps have taken on the physically demanding and time-consuming work of running a household in a war zone. This involves carrying heavy buckets of water to their tents to cooking over open fires, while also taking on additionalcaring responsibilities. Amid severe food shortages, women are eating last and least to ensure others in the family are fed, with Hala, a staff member at Alianza por la Solidaridad, commenting: “The worst thing women do, they put themselves in the bottom of everything, the last on the list, deprioritising herself and taking care of others.”

Women’s Leadership Amid Crisis:

• Despite these immense challenges, Palestinian women have stepped into crucial leadership roles within their communities. From managing displacement camps to advocating for resources, women are actively leading efforts to rebuild Gaza.

Samira, the manager of Al-Istiqama Camp, has transformed her personal grief into community support, saying: “After losing my children and home, I took it upon myself to strive to help displaced people.”

“The voices of women and girls and their perspectives must not be sidelined. It’s time for local and international stakeholders to value the essential contribution of women by increasing funding to women-led organisations and ensuring women have a seat at the table when crucial decisions about Palestine and its future are being made

“The expertise and leadership of women-led organisations and leadership are key to the recovery and peacebuilding efforts. Women must have a central role in all peace negotiations and reconstruction processes, ensuring that their unique perspectives and solutions are part of building a sustainable future for Palestine.”