Israel & Palestine

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been catastrophic for women and girls, with widespread destruction of infrastructure, 90 percent of the Gazan population displaced, severe shortages of basic necessities, and the decimation of maternal care. While women-led organizations in Gaza serve as key humanitarian responders, they remain under-resourced and under-recognized. The conflict has been one of the deadliest for journalists on record—including women journalists—further silencing key voices that document the suffering of women and girls. Women’s inclusion in government and formal negotiation processes remains limited, despite Israeli and Palestinian recognition of women’s importance to peace and security. In Israel, women make up only six of 32 ministers in the government, and their representation in the Knesset has declined amidst growing gender backlash and democratic backsliding. However, women continue to lead vital initiatives to advocate for peace through civil society organizations. Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun, which bring together Israeli and Palestinian women to advance peacebuilding, were nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, while women in Israel have continued to lead grassroots movements protesting the deaths of Gazans and calling for an end to the war. 

Women and girls in Gaza are at imminent risk of death, with famine anticipated to spread in the coming months absent immediate intervention. Following the March 2025 collapse of a prior Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israel threatened to reoccupy Gaza and is reportedly considering annexation of the West Bank, which would likely worsen the conflict and risk regional escalation. Women and girls in the West Bank and East Jerusalem face worsening violence by Israeli settlers, arbitrary arrests, and displacement, with reports of sexual harassment and violence at checkpoints and during detention. Given the scale of catastrophe, pressure to end the war in Gaza is mounting. More countries are recognizing a Palestinian state and demanding accountability for alleged war crimes in Gaza, while protestors in Israel are calling for an end to fighting and a deal to release remaining hostages. Sustained international support for women’s protection and participation remains essential, including efforts to recognize and amplify women’s leadership in negotiation, peacebuilding, and recovery.

The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 72,000 since October 7, 2023, including more than 38,000 Palestinian women and girls killed during Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the enclave. Israeli military operations in Gaza have increased by 35 percent following the April 2026 ceasefire with Iran, with attacks killing dozens of civilians—including children and pregnant women. Negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire remain stalled amid ongoing Israeli violations and Hamas’ refusal to disarm. Women remain almost entirely absent from talks, underscoring the systemic exclusion of Palestinian women from decision-making spaces. Continued deadlock risks further entrenching Gaza’s catastrophic conditions, including severe protection risks for women and girls.

An April 2026 needs assessment documents staggering destruction in Gaza and estimates that recovery and reconstruction will require more than $70 billion over the next decade. Israel’s targeted attacks on healthcare infrastructure, combined with waste buildup and shortages of oxygen and clean water, are contributing to the spread of disease and deepening the humanitarian crisis. At the same time, extreme heat in overcrowded displacement camps is worsening already dire living conditions, especially for pregnant women and newborns. Women and girls bear disproportionate burdens as primary caregivers, and are subject to unpaid labor, loss of livelihoods, and exposure to exploitation in displacement shelters and informal settlements.

Acute food insecurity remains at crisis levels across Gaza amid Israeli restrictions on aid, including repeated closures of the Rafah border crossing and deadly attacks on humanitarian workers that disrupt operations. Food shortages are compounded by severely limited access to water, with reports that Israel is deliberately and systematically depriving Palestinians in Gaza of water as a form of collective punishment. These conditions exacerbate existing gendered inequalities and heighten exposure to exploitation, gender-based violence, and harmful coping mechanisms, including early and forced marriage.

Recent reporting and investigations reveal widespread and systematic sexual violence, harassment, and degrading treatment by Israeli forces and prison personnel targeting Palestinians—including women and girls—across Gaza, the West Bank, and Israeli detention facilities. Survivors have reported abuses including sexual violence, rape, invasive strip searches, torture, and other forms of ill-treatment. An estimated 90 Palestinian women remain detained in Israeli prisons, where they face abuse and limited access to protection or accountability mechanisms. At the same time, Israel’s passage of legislation expanding—and in some cases, mandating—the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of certain crimes has prompted concerns that punitive legal measures and detention practices are being used as tools of collective punishment against Palestinians.

Violence in the West Bank continues to intensify, with a sharp rise in settler attacks in recent months, including the destruction of schools and civilian infrastructure and violence against of Palestinian men, women, and children. These trends are compounded by impunity for perpetrators and accelerated settlement expansion amid broader efforts toward de facto annexation. Escalating violence—including widespread sexual and gender-based violence—and land seizures are driving repeated displacement and family separation. Women and children are often forced to flee while male relatives remain, increasing their exposure to insecurity and economic precarity. Israel’s deepening financial restrictions—including the withholding of tax revenues and work permits—are further exacerbating household poverty. These dynamics risk deepening structural inequalities and heightening women and girls’ exposure to violence, displacement, and economic insecurity.

Amid widespread destruction and displacement in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian youth—including young women—are developing innovative solutions to address urgent community needs. Young developers have built mobile applications to coordinate transportation, reconnect families separated during displacement, and improve access to essential services. In May 2026, two sisters from Gaza received international recognition for developing a sustainable method of making bricks from rubble. These initiatives highlight the importance of investing in young women’s leadership and entrepreneurial skills, which can strengthen community resilience and support locally led recovery even amid ongoing conflict.

Municipal elections held on April 25, 2026 across parts of the West Bank and in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah offer a meaningful though limited step toward rebuilding local governance structures. In Gaza, the elections marked the first local vote in nearly two decades, and the adoption of a quota for women candidates represents a positive step toward expanding women’s participation in formal decision-making processes—essential for inclusive recovery and reconstruction efforts. However, elections occurred in a highly constrained environment: voting in Gaza was limited to a single municipality and excluded large segments of the population displaced by ongoing conflict and infrastructure collapse. Ongoing hostilities in Gaza and the West Bank amid widespread destruction are likely to limit the capacity and agency of locally elected officials to effectively address community needs—including gender-specific issues.