More than 38,000 women, girls killed in Gaza war by end of 2025, UN says

Over 38,000 women and girls were killed in the Gaza war by the end of 2025, the UN estimated Friday, amounting to over half of the more than 71,000 deaths recorded by the territory's health ministry for that year. Today, the death toll stands at over 72,000.

"Between October 2023 and December 2025, more than 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza - the result of Israeli air bombardment and land military operations," the UN Women agency's spokeswoman Sofia Calltorp told a press briefing in Geneva. 

"This includes over 22,000 women and 16,000 girls, amounting to an average of at least 47 women and girls killed every day."

The agency said the true figures were likely to be higher, with bodies still buried under rubble and reporting systems severely constrained.

"Women and girls accounted for a proportion of deaths far higher than those observed in previous conflicts in Gaza," Calltorp added.