ICSPR: Salutes Palestinian Women and Calls on the World to Turn This Day into Solidarity Activities to Strengthen Their Resilience Against Genocide

Reference Number: 0/2025
Date: March 8, 2025
Original Language: Arabic

Press Release

On International Women’s Day

ICSPR: Salutes Palestinian Women and Calls on the World to Turn This Day into Solidarity Activities to Strengthen Their Resilience Against Genocide

The world commemorates International Women’s Day on March 8 each year, as designated by the United Nations in 1977, reaffirming women’s rights as guaranteed by international standards and laws and symbolizing their ongoing struggle for justice and equality.

This occasion comes amid unprecedented catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Palestinian women, especially in the Gaza Strip, following the 16-month-long genocide, which continues despite the ceasefire through the closure of crossings and the prevention of humanitarian aid and essential supplies from entering Gaza. This has exacerbated the suffering of women, who face immense health, psychological, and economic challenges that go beyond the loss of loved ones to the daily struggle for basic necessities such as food, water, and healthcare, amid the collapse of the healthcare system and the occupation’s ongoing restrictions on the entry of medical supplies.

Monitoring and documentation indicate that 70% of the victims of the aggression are women and children, with (12,316) women among the total (48,346) martyrs recorded to date. Additionally, 70% of the missing persons in Gaza due to Israeli aggression are women and children, totaling (14,222) missing individuals. Palestinian female detainees in Israeli prisons also face an unknown fate, with more than (450) cases of arrests recorded since the start of the genocide as of February 25, 2025, while (18) Palestinian women remain in Israeli detention.

Palestinian women continue to endure the pain of loss, with (17,861) Palestinian children killed—an unimaginable tragedy for mothers who have lost their children. Additionally, (13,901) Palestinian women have been left widowed due to the genocide, making them the sole providers for their families, which have lost their main breadwinners. These women bear the heavy burden of securing livelihood and caring for their children amid severe economic hardship exacerbated by the siege and destruction, particularly with the closure of crossings coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan. Moreover, Palestinian women carry the additional responsibility of caring for their injured children in the absence of essential services. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately (7,065) children have sustained disabilities due to the aggression, including loss of limbs, vision, and hearing, requiring special care from their mothers.

In the West Bank and Jerusalem, Palestinian women continue to suffer severe violations. Since the beginning of the year, Israeli crimes and raids on Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps have intensified, including the arrest of women, home demolitions, and forced displacement. Additionally, increasing movement restrictions have disproportionately impacted women and girls, limiting their access to essential services and employment opportunities.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) extends its highest tribute and admiration to Palestinian women, commending their resilience and unwavering struggle against the Israeli occupation and its ongoing crimes. ICSPR reaffirms the right of Palestinian women to live in safety and peace and to receive the necessary legal protection against genocide, enforced disappearance, forced displacement, arbitrary detention, and other crimes committed against them. Accordingly, ICSPR records and demands the following:

1. ICSPR calls on the international community, in accordance with its contractual obligations, to pressure the Israeli occupation to halt genocide and ongoing violations against the Palestinian people, including Palestinian women. This includes the immediate release of all female detainees from Israeli prisons and a thorough investigation into cases of torture, harassment, rape, and other grave violations against them.

2. ICSPR urges UN bodies concerned with women’s rights to take clear positions on Israeli crimes against Palestinian women and to pressure the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite investigations into documented violations during the genocide, particularly crimes targeting civilians, women, and children, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.

3. ICSPR calls on all women’s organizations and unions worldwide to strengthen their solidarity with Palestinian women, support their resilience, and back their struggle against the oppression they face, particularly in Gaza amid the ongoing genocide.

4. ICSPR urges official authorities to adopt a national strategy aimed at enhancing the resilience of Palestinian women, ensuring their participation in decision-making positions, and effectively utilizing legal protection mechanisms for women.