Israel has "systematically" destroyed sexual and reproductive healthcare facilities in Gaza while employing gender-based violence — including sexual and reproductive violence — as a war strategy against Palestinians since October 2023, experts said in a UN report released on March 13.
The report, issued by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, documents a range of violations against Palestinian women, men, girls, and boys.
The findings were presented alongside two days of public hearings in Geneva on March 11-12. During the hearings, victims, witnesses, and medical personnel provided testimony of Israel’s actions in the enclave. According to the report, these actions amounted to genocidal acts and crimes against humanity, including extermination.
‘War on women’
Thousands of women have been killed, and hundreds of thousands remain in extremely dire conditions, especially pregnant women and new mothers.
Israeli forces have blocked humanitarian aid from reaching pregnant women and newborns and there is no access to neonatal, prenatal or postpartum care.
While the death toll from pregnancy and childbirth complications remains unknown, maternity deaths, stillbirths and miscarriages have surged due to restricted access to medical supplies.
Here are accounts of Palestinians and medical workers, describing Israel’s crimes against Palestinian women and children:
“This is a war against women.” - Obstetrician in Gaza
“Giving birth in Gaza is like giving birth in the Middle Ages.” - Obstetrician in Gaza
“I saw a pregnant woman who was shot and killed as she was approaching the hospital. She was left there bleeding.” - A witness from al-Awda Hospital in Gaza
“It was a lot for me; it was a lot for women. It’s more than a human can bear.” - New mother in Gaza
“My husband watched online videos to learn how to deliver a baby.” - Displaced woman in Khan Younis
“There is no dignity for mothers in Gaza.” - Paediatrician in Gaza
