Gaza violence results in nearly 900 new widows: UN

United Nations, Oct 21

Out of the 493,000 women and girls displaced from their homes by the violence in Gaza, there are an estimated 900 new widows, a UN spokesman has said.

UN Women estimated the number of widows from the number of women who became the heads of households following their male partner's death, said Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing the just-released study, "UN Women Rapid Assessment and Humanitarian Response in the Occupied Palestinian Territory".

The report's statistics came from Thursday's tally of Gaza casualties since October 7 by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on its ReliefWeb, the assessment said.

The study said more than 3,785 Palestinian died and more than 12,500 people were injured, with 53 percent of them women and children, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Over 1 million people, almost half the total population of Gaza, have been displaced, and civilian infrastructure across Gaza has been significantly damaged, with 5,262 buildings destroyed or severely damaged to date," the study said. "The gendered impact of the crisis cannot be overlooked."

UN Women estimated that 1,487 men were killed, which resulted in a surge of widows, close to 900 new female-headed households, and 3,103 children who have lost their fathers.

Additionally, the UN Women study said the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) October 13 Situation Report said there were 540,000 women of reproductive age in Gaza, including 50,000 pregnant women and 5,522 expected to deliver in the next month.