UN Women statement on the impact of the recent military escalation in the Middle East on women and girls
Geneva/Cairo/Bangkok – 10 April 2026 – UN Women echoes the Secretary-General’s welcome of the announcement of a two-week ceasefire by the United States and Iran and his alarm at the wave of Israeli strikes across Lebanon, with reports indicating that hundreds of people have been killed and injured this week alone, including women and girls. UN Women continues its calls for a lasting and just peace in the region – one that upholds the rights, safety, and dignity of all women and girls.
On 28 February 2026, on the first day of the recent escalation, 168 girls were reportedly killed when a strike hit their primary school in Minab, Iran [1]. Since then, hundreds more women and girls have reportedly been killed across the region. 204 women have reportedly been killed in Iran [2]; while in Lebanon 102 women were reportedly killed prior to the intense bombardment on 8 April [3], according to national health authorities. Women and girls have also been reportedly killed in Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, the occupied Palestinian territory, and the United Arab Emirates.
Millions of women and girls have been forced to flee their homes, including an estimated up to 1.6 million in Iran [4] and 620,000 in Lebanon [5]. Displacement is exposing them to heightened risks, particularly in overcrowded and unsafe conditions. It is also cutting off access to healthcare, protection, and livelihoods, while increasing unpaid care burdens.
The destruction of civilian infrastructure in the region is further limiting access to safe shelter, clean water, and essential services. Even before this latest escalation, an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and 70,000 pregnant women in Lebanon were in need of maternal health services, many already facing significant barriers to adequate care [6]. Damage to hospitals and health systems will further constrain access to life-saving and essential services. And, food insecurity has become an increasingly urgent concern. Across affected countries – including Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Iraq – 24 million women and girls are facing deepening food insecurity driven by price volatility, disrupted supply chains and declining purchasing power in a highly import-dependent region [7]. In Gaza alone, nearly 790,000 women and girls are experiencing crisis-level or worse food insecurity [8].
Women’s rights organizations, which are critical to humanitarian response and peacebuilding across the region, are operating under shrinking civic space, escalating security risks, and severe funding gaps. Women human rights defenders have faced intimidation, arbitrary arrest, detention, and, in some cases, lethal violence.
UN Women is on the ground across the Middle East region, scaling up protection, livelihoods support and coordination, and ensuring women’s voices lead the response and recovery. We call for de-escalation, protection of all civilians, unimpeded humanitarian access, gender-responsive humanitarian action, and for the two-week ceasefire to become the foundation for a just, enduring, and comprehensive peace for all women and girls across the region.
