Story summary
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reports a surge in violence against women and girls in Gaza, including early and forced marriages. According to the data, there has been a 27% increase in gender-based violence (GBV) cases from April to June 2026 compared to the previous quarter. Sexual violence incidents, which include rape and sexual assault, have risen by 61%, accounting for 2.7% of total GBV reports.
The UNFPA gathered testimonies from 230 women in displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, revealing numerous instances where young girls were forced into marriage to secure basic necessities like food. One woman described a man who married off his 14-year-old daughter for "two bags of flour" to feed his family during the famine. Additionally, there is an alarming trend of rape victims being coerced into marrying their attackers to avoid social stigma.
These reports highlight how living conditions in overcrowded shelters and severe resource shortages exacerbate GBV, with women aged 18-59 accounting for 68% of all violence cases reported. Psychological and emotional abuse was the second most common form of GBV, followed by physical and sexual violence.
Written for “Violence Against Women In Gaza” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
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A series of UN reports have revealed a 'severe escalation' in gender based violence in Gaza, as women are abused by male relatives and forced to marry their rapists.
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women → see → rapists
Recent reports from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) found that gender based violence (GBV) in Gaza had increased 27 per cent from April of this year to June.
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violence → find → June
Women and girls are facing sexual violence, the denial of resources and domestic abuse- a situation exacerbated by the humanitarian crisis in the region.
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Women → face → region
One report stated that incidents of sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, 'have become critical in Gaza'.
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incidents → state → Gaza
They accounted for 2.7 per cent of total reported incidents of GBV from April to June 2026 - up from 2.1 per cent in the quarter before, representing a 61 per cent increase in absolute case numbers.
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They → account → numbers
UNFPA gathered testimony from 230 women living in displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, describing the violence they and their female neighbours have experienced.
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they → gather → violence
Several women recounted incidents of rape and forced marriage throughout the camps.
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women → recount → camps
[During the famine], a man married off his 14-year-old daughter in exchange for two bags of flour so he and his [other] children could eat,' one woman in Khan Younis said.
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woman → marry → Younis
The report found that rape incidents were often covered up and survivors pressured into marrying their perpetrators.
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survivors → find → perpetrators
Displaced Palestinian women bake bread with an oven in Deir Al Balah, southern Gaza Strip
Displaced Gazan children stand by an UNRWA building in Gaza City
Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings to an other area following an airstrike
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Palestinians → bake → airstrike
When rape cases are discovered in schools, you find weddings and celebrations at the school the next day,' one woman said.
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woman → discover → school
The report also stated that sexual violence against disabled women was prevalent, with several women recounting harrowing experiences.
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women → state → experiences
One account described a disabled girl who was raped and later became pregnant.
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who → describe → girl
One woman said she knew of another who was forced to 'come to [a doctor's] room at night' and comply with his demands in order for her son to receive surgery.
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son → say → surgery
Another woman in Gaza City recalled how a widow seeking a tent was allegedly told by a camp representative: 'I'll give you a tent, we'll put you in our camp, and you can come stay with me tonight.'
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you → recall → me
One woman said: 'It has reached the point where aid is only received after [a woman] has been fully exploited.'
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woman → say → point
Meanwhile, fathers, brothers, and in-laws in particular were among the most frequently discussed perpetrators of denial of access to humanitarian aid.
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fathers → discuss → aid
One particularly disturbing account read: 'There is a woman in the camp who… returned to the north alone [without her husband].
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who → read → husband
She was securing the needs of her children [and would] beg the camp representative for bread.
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She → secure → bread
Her father-in-law stabbed her and humiliated her in front of everyone because she goes out to look for food.
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she → stab → food
Her husband’s brother came and assaulted her in front of the whole camp and insulted her.
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brother → come → her
The report also found that some women said their husbands had forced them to exchange sexual favours with people in their camps in return for money.
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husbands → find → money
I heard more than one story about women whose husbands forced them to work in sex services.
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husbands → hear → services
In one camp, maybe 14 people were caught doing services, promoting drugs, and providing sex services,' one woman recounted.
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woman → catch → services
Domestic violence in Gaza was already a significant problem, but displacement has forced women to live in close quarters with their abusers, and cases have skyrocketed.
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cases → force → abusers
Women stand by a UNICEF tent at a makeshift displacement camp in central Gaza
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Women → stand → Gaza
A displaced Palestinian girl stands in the window of an UNRWA school in Khan Younis
Palestinian women working to recycle empty bags of flour to produce reusable protective bags
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women → stand → bags
All women are subject to violence from family members, especially physical abuse, due to the increased number of family members [living together].
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women → increase → members
The problem has worsened considerably,' one woman recounted.
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woman → worsen → ?
In one particularly horrible testimony, another woman said her neighbour was sexually, physically and emotionally abused by her husband.
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neighbour → say → husband
He reportedly prevented her from contacting her friends and family.
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He → prevent → friends
'She would secretly call from her neighbour's phone.
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She → call → phone
When [her husband] found out that she contacted her family, he took her to his friend's place and tortured her – tying her up and dragging her by her hair.
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he → find → hair
'She returned covered in bruises and unable to move her hand.
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She → return → hand
When I asked why she came back, she said, "Where can I go?
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I → ask → ?
And also, I cannot be away from my children",' the woman said.
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woman → say → children
Older women are also the victims of violence, with the report finding that displacement has eroded many of the protective elements elderly matriarchs used to have.
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matriarchs → find → elements
One woman said of her neighbours: 'I know people who were in the tent next to me.
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who → say → me
The man used to beat his elderly mother when she soiled herself, because diapers were too expensive and he wasn't working.
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he → use → herself
The rise is being linked to the humanitarian crisis, but also to efforts to raise awareness and provide better ways to make confidential reports.
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rise → link → reports
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
