On International Women’s Day: Nearly 30% of Gaza’s martyrs are women

GAZA: While the world celebrates International Women's Day, Palestinian women continue to fall victim to the ongoing Israeli war of genocide, becoming martyrs, wounded, prisoners, and displaced from one place to another, fearing the relentless Israeli airstrikes. During the 154 consecutive days of Israel's war on Gaza, approximately 9,000 women, including thousands of mothers and pregnant women, have lost their lives due to Israeli occupation forces' attacks. Additionally, around 60,000 women suffer from malnutrition and lack of healthcare. According to statistics, around 5,000 pregnant women in Gaza give birth each month under harsh, unsafe, and unhealthy conditions caused by continuous Israeli bombardment, displacement, and forced migration. They constitute 49% of the population, most of them in childbearing age, facing exacerbated health and psychological conditions, according to international, regional, and local organizations. Wissam Hamad lost her family members after being displaced from the Daraj n eighborhood to Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City due to heavy tank shelling near the Al-Maliya Roundabout. Eight members of her family, including her six-year-old daughter Hind, were killed. She stated, "My daughter Hind was killed by the bullets of the occupation in front of the whole world on live television without anyone moving or intervening to stop this war and massacre committed against us." On this International Women's Day, she expressed her hope that the women of Palestine will live in peace and security, and that this insane war waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip will come to an end. Hajja Ni'ma Abu Sultan from Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza said, "We are losing our sons and young people who are dying to save their children and mothers in tents and shelters, and to provide them with decent livelihoods, including sacks of flour." Abu Sultan lost her son while waiting for aid entering northern Gaza at the Nablusi Roundabout near the coastal Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City. She tearfully added, "Stop the war, oh people, and act for Gaza. Gaza is dying every day. Gaza is not a major country, but a point on the map. Our children died of hunger, ate the food of animals, and went to fetch flour but returned as martyrs carried on carts." Shaima Nasir, a 25-year-old mother from Beit Hanoun, holding her infant daughter Sela born during the war, said, "I am looking for milk for this baby because I cannot breastfeed her. I do not eat healthy food, and my daughter will die of hunger. We want food and a decent living." Nasir pointed to her other young daughter holding her hand, saying, "What is her fault to go hungry? We wait for hours in lines to get a box of milk, and we do not get it." Several women made an urgent plea to the world from the heart of the massacre, emphasizing that Palestinian women lack the most basic necessities of life. Many are subjected to systematic slaughter and intentional killing on live broadcasts. A large number of them are injured and detained by the occupation under inh umane conditions. These women have found no safe haven throughout the Gaza Strip and appealed to countries and international organizations to translate their words into actions when it comes to advocating for women's rights, taking immediate and serious action to stop Israel's unethical war on the Gaza Strip as a first step towards reclaiming the minimum human life essentials. Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA