Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
Nearly one in four households in Gaza is now reportedly headed by a woman—about 86,290 families—roughly double the rate before October 2023, according to UN Women data cited by Sofia Calltorp, Chief of Humanitarian Action at the agency. This rise follows widespread loss of life amid ongoing conflict in the region.
Since the October 2025 ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, violence has persisted, resulting in 246 Palestinian women and girls killed by Israeli airstrikes and military operations in Gaza. Calltorp reported this amounts to approximately six female casualties weekly between October 2025 and July 2026.
Across Gaza, access to food, clean water, hygiene products, and essential services remains severely restricted due to limits on humanitarian access, insecurity, and ongoing bombardment. Women heading households face daily difficult decisions about resource allocation, seeking assistance, and ensuring the survival of those in their care.
Women-headed families are statistically more likely to experience displacement, destruction of their homes, and shortages of shelter, food, and financial resources compared to male-headed households. Many Palestinians remain displaced, confined to less than 40% of the Gaza Strip due to movement restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities.
The reported toll in Gaza since the ceasefire includes 1,303 fatalities and 4,336 injuries, according to health authorities in Gaza cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).