Reports of violence against women and girls in Gaza have surged this year, according to the UN Population Fund. Reported gender-based violence rose 60 percent during the first six months of 2026.

Cases of early and forced marriage rose 123 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter of 2026, involving girls aged 12 to 17, UNFPA said. Its findings draw on cases handled by 10 organizations and interviews with 230 displaced women in Gaza City and Khan Younis.

UNFPA’s representative to Palestine, Nestor Owomuhangi, called the trends “shocking.” He said three years of conflict have eroded social structures so badly that “there is no system” left to protect women.

One account cited in reports described a man marrying off his 14-year-old daughter in exchange for two bags of flour. Rape victims are sometimes married to their attackers to avoid scandal, the reports said.

Why it matters: aid groups warn the collapse of law and social order is turning young girls into economic currency in the war’s shadow.