UN Experts Urge Security Council to Confront Gendered Devastation in Gaza

A group of independent United Nations human rights experts has issued a pressing appeal to the UN Security Council, urging it to immediately address what they have termed an “unprecedented assault” on civilians—especially women and girls—by Israeli military forces in Gaza. As the Council convenes for an open debate on the protection of civilians under the presidency of Greece, the experts insist that the discussion must center not only on humanitarian protection but also on the stark and gender-specific atrocities inflicted during the ongoing conflict.

Gendered Dimensions of the Conflict: A Crisis Within a Crisis

The group emphasized the catastrophic and highly gendered consequences of Israel's military operations. “The war is not only a humanitarian catastrophe—it is a gendered genocide,” they said. According to their report, more than 28,000 Palestinian women and girls have been killed in the conflict. Thousands more are injured, and nearly 1 million have been displaced from their homes. The scale of destruction and violence has disproportionately affected women, with nearly 13,000 now serving as single heads of households in a shattered socio-economic landscape.

Women and girls, the experts noted, are struggling to care for their families amid a near-total collapse of civil infrastructure. Many have little or no access to clean water, medical care, food, or vital hygiene and reproductive health services. Pregnant and breastfeeding women, estimated at around 17,000, face imminent danger due to acute malnutrition and the inability to access prenatal and postnatal care. Furthermore, nearly 71,000 children are also in urgent need of nutrition-related medical attention.

Women with Disabilities: An Invisible Frontline

Especially troubling are the compounded vulnerabilities faced by women and girls with disabilities, who are subject to higher rates of neglect, violence, and inaccessibility to essential services. The breakdown of healthcare, transport, and communication infrastructure has further isolated these individuals, putting their survival at even greater risk.

The Destruction of Infrastructure and Societal Pillars

The experts condemned the deliberate targeting and destruction of civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, and residential areas. “This level of devastation is not collateral—it reflects an intentional strategy aimed at rendering civilian life unlivable,” the group stated. The continuous bombardment and siege have eliminated safe spaces, with schools turned into ruins and hospitals overwhelmed or destroyed.

In a poignant anecdote, the experts recounted that many girls still carry their schoolbooks and wear their uniforms, hoping against hope for a return to their classrooms. Despite widespread destruction and danger, these children continue to walk long distances for remote learning, only to risk bombings and attacks along the way.

Women as Pillars of Resistance and Resilience

Despite enduring immense suffering, Palestinian women remain resilient. Many serve as frontline responders—doctors, aid workers, journalists, teachers, and lawyers—risking their lives to care for others, document human rights abuses, and uphold a semblance of civil order. Their work, often under-recognized, stands as a testament to the strength and agency of women even amid humanitarian disaster.

Legal and Moral Crisis: The Collapse of International Norms

The experts warned that the killings of thousands of women and girls may amount to “the deliberate infliction of conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction, in whole or in part, of the Palestinian people.” Such actions, they emphasized, could meet the legal threshold for genocide under international law.

They also expressed deep concern that core principles of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda—mandated under UN Security Council Resolution 1325—are being sidelined during a conflict that is clearly gendered in both impact and scope.

“If the Security Council fails to confront this profound breakdown in compliance and accountability,” the experts warned, “the very foundations of international law risk becoming meaningless. Multilateralism and human dignity cannot survive such impunity.”

Urgent Calls for a Permanent Ceasefire and Accountability

The experts reiterated their long-standing demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, alongside robust accountability mechanisms. They underscored that humanitarian access must be guaranteed and that the international community must no longer turn a blind eye to the gendered atrocities unfolding in Gaza.

They concluded with a resounding appeal to the Security Council to uphold its obligations: “This is a defining moment for the protection of civilians and the credibility of international law. Justice delayed is not just justice denied—it is complicity.”