Father sold his daughter, 14, for two bags of flour as forced marriages in Gaza surge 123% in a year
From the Newshound archive · first published 23 September 2026 · last updated 24 September 2026.
A UN Population Fund report reveals a 123% rise in reported forced and child marriages in Gaza in just one quarter, with six women in displacement camps separately describing girls being bartered for food. Rape survivors are routinely married off to their attackers to suppress scandal, with one witness saying that when assaults are discovered in schools, 'you find weddings and celebrations at the school the next day.' The UNFPA interviewed 230 women in camps in Gaza City and Khan Younis, recording rape, sexual harassment and systematic abuse driven by the collapse of all public services.
Reported sexual violence cases rose 61% in absolute numbers from the first to second quarter of 2026, UNFPA found.
War orphans are among the most vulnerable, with two girls aged 14 and 15 married off by uncles 'to get rid of the responsibility', one witness said.
UNFPA's Nestor Owomuhangi said years of destruction had eroded every protective structure: 'There is no system.'