The statistics of the impact of the devastation in Gaza are astounding.

According to a report by UN Women:

• 70% impacted are women and children

• Close to 1 million women and girls have been displaced

• 2 mothers are killed every hour

• At least 3,000 may have become new widows and women heads of households

• At least 10,000 children may have lost their fathers

• No safe spaces for women survivors of gender-based violence are sufficiently operational

Additionally, according to the report, there has been a shift of loss in lives since October 2023.

Between 2008 and October 7 2023, the UN had registered 6,542 Palestinians and 308 Israelis killed in hostilities - less than 14% were women and girls

Since October 7 2023, the number of Palestinians killed has tripled the total of the previous 15 years combined, and the demographics have shifted: 70% of Palestinians killed in Gaza are today estimated to be women and children.

The realities of the displacement of women and children can be seen through the eyes of many, as told to writers for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as well as through personal accounts are provided in the UN Women's Report:

“Our house consisted of three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It was fully and elegantly furnished. We took such good care of it, but now all we have is a one-room tent. Our house was completely destroyed, so we don't know where we’ll go after the assault ends.”

"Two weeks after the war started on my due date, I went to the hospital knowing that I was risking my life and that of my long-awaited baby… My doctor decided to use a private clinic that was not fully equipped as it was the only solution available at that time. I risked my life and I hope that I didn’t bring my baby to this world for him to just be killed for no reason!"

"I can never leave my humble house except when I die. My husband can hardly move, and he has no intention of staying or dying in anyone else’s place. … Many older people like us stayed behind and are left to our fate. I am scared, exhausted, and expecting the worst. God will have mercy on us."

The atrocities of these senseless attacks, funded by the U.S. Empire, have had far-reaching consequences that began long before October 7. Innocent lives have been lost, communities have been shattered, and the cycle of violence has been further perpetuated, with no end in sight.

We stand against oppression, against settler colonialism and against the International crime of apartheid, in alignment with The Green Party Platform.

On this International Women's Day we urge everyone to speak out against the atrocities of the women and children of Gaza. We ask people everywhere to speak out every day against the genocide of the Palestinian people and demand a stop to the financial and military support by the United States for the acts of violence that are wiping out an entire culture. We stand with the women of Palestine in liberating their people!

From the River to the sea, Palestinian women must be freed. Free Palestine!

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Photo: Eye on Palestine