A series of United Nations reports has documented a “severe escalation” in gender-based violence in Gaza, including abuse by male relatives and cases in which women and girls were forced to marry their rapists.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said gender-based violence (GBV) in Gaza rose by 27 per cent between April and June 2026.
Amid the worsening humanitarian crisis, women and girls are facing sexual violence, domestic abuse and the withholding of essential resources.
One UN report warned that sexual violence, including rape and sexual assault, “have become critical in Gaza”.
Such incidents represented 2.7 per cent of all reported GBV cases between April and June 2026, compared with 2.1 per cent in the previous quarter. In absolute terms, the number of cases increased by 61 per cent.
UNFPA collected testimony from 230 women living in displacement camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, detailing violence experienced by them and other women in the camps.
Several women described cases of rape and forced marriage among displaced communities.
“[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.
The report said rape cases were frequently concealed, while survivors were pressured to marry the men who had attacked them.
Displaced Palestinians move with their belongings to an other area following an airstrike
“When rape cases are discovered in schools, you find weddings and celebrations at the school the next day,” one woman said.
Sexual violence against disabled women was also reported as widespread. Several women shared distressing accounts, including one involving a disabled girl who was raped and later became pregnant.
The report also pointed to an increase in sexual exploitation in exchange for vital services.
One woman said she knew of another who had been forced to “come to [a doctor’s] room at night” and comply with his demands so that her son could undergo surgery.
In Gaza City, another woman recalled that 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.”
“It has reached the point where aid is only received after [a woman] has been fully exploited,” one woman said.
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Fathers, brothers and in-laws were also among those most frequently identified in accounts involving the denial of access to humanitarian aid.
One particularly disturbing testimony described a woman in a camp who “returned to the north alone [without her husband]” and tried to secure food and other necessities for her children by pleading with the camp representative for bread.
“Her father-in-law stabbed her and humiliated her in front of everyone because she goes out to look for food. Her husband’s brother came and assaulted her in front of the whole camp and insulted her.”
The report further found that some women said their husbands had pressured them to exchange sexual favours with men in the camps for money.
Several women recounted incidents of rape and forced marriage throughout the camps
‘I heard more than one story about women whose husbands forced them to work in sex services. In one camp, maybe 14 people were caught doing services, promoting drugs, and providing sex services,’ one woman recounted.
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.
‘All women are subject to violence from family members, especially physical abuse, due to the increased number of family members [living together]. No one is immune, especially during wartime. The problem has worsened considerably,’ one woman recounted.
In one particularly horrible testimony, another woman said her neighbour was sexually, physically and emotionally abused by her husband. He reportedly prevented her from contacting her friends and family.
‘She would secretly call from her neighbour’s 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.
‘She returned covered in bruises and unable to move her hand. When I asked why she came back, she said, “Where can I go? And also, I cannot be away from my children”,’ the woman said.
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.
One woman said of her neighbours: ‘I know people who were in the tent next to me. The man used to beat his elderly mother when she soiled herself, because diapers were too expensive and he wasn’t working.’
The rise is being linked to the humanitarian crisis, but also to efforts to raise awareness and provide better ways to make confidential reports.
Data gathered indicated that the majority of survivors were women aged 18-59, followed by adolescent girls at 8 per cent and adult men at 5 per cent.