More than 493,000 girls and women have been displaced from their homes in Gaza, as the war between Israel and Hamas escalates.

The United Nations Women, in a report last Friday, says the number could grow, if a ceasefire is not achieved soon, and their needs unmet.

The report further puts the number of women who have been widowed at 900, following the deaths of their male partners since the onset of the conflict.

“The significant, largely displaced population of women and girls, and new female-headed households, have unique and urgent needs and vulnerabilities that must be recognised and addressed,” the women’s rights body said.

So dire is the situation that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that thousands of pregnant women are at risk of health and maternal care complications.

So dire is the situation that the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that thousands of pregnant women are at risk of health and maternal care complications.

According to Women Deliver, a global body that advocates for gender equality and the health and rights of women, more than 37,000 pregnant women will be forced to give birth with no electricity or medical supplies in the coming months, risking their lives and health.

“It has become clear that the violence in Gaza is, in addition to a humanitarian crisis, an acute reproductive justice, rights, and health issue about which we cannot be silent. The violence and impact on women and girls in Gaza also make this a reproductive justice and health crisis,” Women Deliver said in a statement on Tuesday, October 24.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen to these women and their newborn babies. Our center is unusable and our options to provide referrals to hospitals are decreasing by the hour. I can’t stress enough how dire the situation is and how desperately we need humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza,” Ammal Awadallah, the Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association (PFPPA) Executive Director is quoted as saying.