United Nations, Mar 2 : Around 9,000 women have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the outbreak of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians on Oct 7, 2023, said UN Women on Friday.

This figure is likely an underestimate, as many more women are reported to die under the rubble, said the UN agency committed to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Every day the killing in Gaza continues, while a daily average of 63 women continue to be killed at the current rate, including 37 mothers, leaving their families devastated and their children with diminished protection, said the agency.

More than four out of five women, or 84 per cent, report that their family eats half or less of the food they used to before the conflict began, with mothers and adult women being those tasked with sourcing food, yet eating last, less and least than everyone else, the agency said.

Four in five women, precisely 84 percent, in Gaza indicate that at least one of their family members had to skip meals during the past week. In 95 percent of those cases, mothers are the ones going without food, skipping at least one meal to feed their children, it added.

Gaza’s entire population of 2.3 million people will be facing acute levels of food insecurity within weeks. Some women are now resorting to extreme coping mechanisms, such as scavenging for food under rubble or in dumpsters, it said.

Ten out of 12 women’s organisations surveyed in Gaza reported being partly operational, providing essential emergency response services. Despite their extraordinary efforts, less than 1 percent of funding raised through the 2023 Flash Appeal has gone to national or local women’s rights organizations, said UN Women.

Unless there is an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, many more will die in the coming days and weeks, the agency warned, urging that the killing, bombing and destruction of essential infrastructure in Gaza must stop, and humanitarian aid must get into and across Gaza immediately.

UNI