As the world marks International Women’s Day, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemns Israel’s killing of more than 12,000 Palestinian women in Gaza as a “stain on humanity.”

“The killing of 12,000 women in Gaza, the injury and arrest of thousands, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands are a stain on humanity,” Hamas said in a statement on Saturday.

It said female Palestinian abductees are “subjected to psychological and physical torture in flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions.”

Hamas added that the suffering endured by these women exposed the “double standards” of Western countries, including the United States, in dealing with Palestinian abductees.

The statement came shortly after the head of the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip, Salama Maarouf, said 12,316 women had been killed due to the Israeli regime’s genocidal war in the besieged territory.

“Women’s Day coincides with the continuation of the Israeli siege and the prevention of aid, as women live in catastrophic humanitarian conditions and suffer from starvation and thirst,” Maarouf said.

According to the Gaza government tally, the bloody Israeli onslaught also left 2,000 women and girls with permanent disabilities due to amputations.

Moreover, 13,901 women were widowed and at least 17,000 mothers lost their offspring, while over 50,000 pregnant women lost their unborn babies.

Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza in early October 2023, after Hamas and other Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movements carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to its decades-long oppression of Palestinians.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has led to the death of at least 48,446 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left 111,852 others injured.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement went into effect in Gaza on January 19, halting Israel’s aggressive campaign against the coastal region.

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