Nagham Karaja 

Gaza - Two years after the war of October 7, 2023, and despite the ceasefire agreement, Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip still face a daily test of survival in a reality where bombs fall like dreams, and the foundations of life collapse one after another.

The genocidal war that began two years ago has not truly stopped — it continues in new forms: hunger, disease, deprivation, and displacement. Despite all this, the Palestinian woman remains at the heart of the tragedy, steadfast despite the collapse, carrying burdens beyond her strength, resisting in every detail of a crumbling life.

Jameela Ahmed, a forty-year-old Palestinian mother of five, embodies this ongoing suffering. She was displaced from her home in the central Gaza Strip after it was directly targeted by an Israeli airstrike without warning, leaving her injured in her back and right leg. Yet she did not give up; she continued her painful journey to remain a present mother in her children’s lives.

She says, her voice blending determination with sorrow: “When the house fell and the rubble hit me, I thought only of my children. The pain was tearing me apart, but I swore to live for them. Today, I chase water trucks, stand in long lines for a loaf of bread, look for our name in aid lists that rarely reach us, and return each evening with new disappointment. But I return — and with me, my unbroken will.”

She adds, wiping sweat from her tired face: “What we live today defies description. The war is no longer just bombing; it has become famine, disease, repeated humiliation, and the slow extinction of life. We women in Gaza carry all this ruin on our shoulders. We try to stay strong for our children, plant hope in them even as we lose it, protect them while we ourselves are without shelter or medicine. But despite everything we’ve lost, we won’t allow ourselves to collapse, because our collapse means the loss of what remains of our families.”

Terrifying Numbers 

In temporary camps and shelters, Jameela’s story is repeated a thousand times each day. According to UN reports, more than 28,000 women and girls have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war — that’s roughly one woman killed every hour. An estimated 951,000 women and girls have been displaced, leaving their homes under bombardment to seek refuge in tents, schools, or on sidewalks. Around 10,000 women have been widowed during the war, becoming the sole providers for families without homes or resources.

These horrifying numbers represent only a fraction of the tragedy. Behind every statistic lies a long story of pain. Displaced women live in inhumane conditions in overcrowded shelters with no privacy, safety, or adequate sanitation. Many share sleeping spaces with strangers and face cold, heat, and disease, while mental and social support services are virtually nonexistent. Pregnant and nursing women are among the most vulnerable — most suffer from malnutrition, lack of medical care, and the inability to reach hospitals that have been destroyed, closed, or suffer from a severe shortage of staff and medical supplies.

At the same time, women face multiple forms of violence. In addition to the constant threat of bombings, many are subjected to gender-based violence due to psychological pressure, overcrowded displacement areas, and lack of oversight or legal protection. The economic collapse has also made women more vulnerable to exploitation or hard labor for meager pay. “We carry double the responsibilities,” says Jameela. “We feed our children, search for water and medicine, wash and cook, stay awake guarding our tents at night. We no longer ask for rest — we just want to keep what’s left of our lives. Even our bodies can’t bear it anymore, but we don’t have the luxury of breaking down.”

Women Facing Death in Silence 
The tragedy extends to the health sector. UN reports warn that the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system has left thousands of women silently facing death. Some suffer war injuries without treatment, others live with permanent disabilities after losing limbs or mobility. Yet you still see these women crawling on crutches or wheelchairs toward water or aid distribution points — just to keep their families alive.

Two years of war have made Gaza an unlivable place, and women bear the heaviest burden of this collapse. Amid hunger, thirst, and disease, the Palestinian woman continues her endless battle against death — and yet she is also the one rebuilding life amid the ruins, restoring order inside tents, and creating a “new social system” in the absence of government and institutions. Every mother becomes a leader, every wife a provider, every little girl a small helper trying to comfort her mother or care for her family.

“We don’t wait for the world’s sympathy,” one woman says. “The world watched us die and did nothing. We live because we have no other choice. Every day is a new battle for survival. Sometimes I cry silently, then wash my face and tell myself: as long as my children are alive, the war hasn’t won yet.”

Yet despite this legendary resilience, reality grows worse each day. Famine grips the heart of the Strip, and women bear the greatest weight of food, water, and healthcare shortages. The lines in front of bakeries and water trucks are now a daily sight. Many women faint from exhaustion or heat while waiting; some are injured in the chaos or under sudden shelling. With aid deliveries dwindling, many women resort to primitive ways to meet their families’ needs — collecting firewood or drying spoiled bread for cooking.

“Every day in Gaza is a battle for survival” 
Nothing has changed since the war began — only the suffering has deepened. The women who taught the world lessons in patience and willpower have received nothing but more pain. It is not enough to hand them food parcels or hold therapy sessions — the need runs far deeper. Palestinian women in Gaza require a comprehensive program for physical, psychological, and social rehabilitation — a program to rebuild them as homes are rebuilt, giving them a chance to regain their dignity after all they’ve lost.

Two years into genocide, Gaza’s women stand at the edge of nothingness — rooted to the land turned to ash, clinging to life despite death surrounding them. In every weary face like Jameela Ahmed’s lies a long history of endurance and unbreakable will, as if every woman in Gaza silently tells the world: “You took our safety, but you will never take our determination to live.”

That determination — unshaken after two years of hell — remains the fuel with which Palestinian women rebuild the meaning of resilience from beneath the rubble. Every new day in Gaza is a small battle for survival, and every woman there practices heroism without a weapon — simply through her insistence on standing firm in the face of slow, unending death. Amid the ruins, relief lines, and ever-present drone of warplanes, women today live a reality beyond endurance — yet they continue walking heavily toward life, as if born to protect this homeland from extinction.