Left to carry households alone: War and the rise of women-headed households in Gaza

This brief highlights how the war in Gaza has fundamentally reshaped household structures and survival responsibilities. Women reportedly head nearly 1 in 4 households in Gaza – representing an estimated 86,290 households and roughly double the pre-October 2023 rate of around 1 in 9. This includes widows and women whose husbands are missing, detained, severely injured, forcibly disappeared, or whose fate remains unknown.

For women-headed households, the impact extends far beyond the grief of losing a husband, father, or other loved one.  Many are now carrying sole responsibility for providing for, protecting, and holding their families together in increasingly devastating conditions.  With severely limited access to food, shelter, safe water, and hygiene supplies, alongside ongoing hostilities and insecurity, the situation in Gaza remains catastrophic. Restrictions on humanitarian access and continued bombardment are deepening the crisis for women heading households.

Households headed by women are far less likely to have adequate shelter, with nearly 7 in 10 (68 per cent) reporting that their housing needs are not being met, compared with 55 per cent of male-headed households. Their homes also are more likely to have been damaged or destroyed (74 per cent compared with 67 per cent), and they are likely to be displaced more times – forced to flee an average of eight times since October 2023, compared with seven times for male-headed households. The financial pressure on households headed by women is immense. Two thirds (67 per cent) of women-headed households urgently need cash for daily survival. Women heading households also face greater safety and protection concerns. Nearly 1 in 5 (19 per cent) women-headed households are concerned for their safety and protection, compared with 1 in 12 (8 per cent) women living in male-headed households.