After rubbing for weeks to feed her six children In Gazathe 38-year-old woman thought she had found a lifeline.
At the shelter, a friend told her about a man who could help her Food and, assistancemaybe even at work. The woman – she is forced to leave her husband and close the business that once floated her family, and approaches him.
She was about a month of the war in Gaza and he promised her work, a six-month deal with aid agencies. On the day she believed she would sign the papers, he drove her to an empty apartment instead of an office. He praised her, she said, and told her to remove her scarf.
He told her he loved her and wouldn’t force her, she said, but he wouldn’t let her go. In the end, she said they had a sexual encounter. She refused to give details of the nature of their interactions, saying she felt fear and shame.
“I was scared so I had to play with him. I wanted to leave this place,” the woman said.
Before she left, she said, he handed her some money – 100 shekels, about $30. Two weeks later he gave her a box of medicine and a box of food. However, for a few weeks, the job didn’t come true.
Like Gaza A humanitarian crisis growswomen say that in exchange for sexual interactions, they were exploited by local men (associated with aid groups) who are committed to food, money, water, supplies, or work. This is because six women detailed their experiences to The Associated Press, each speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from their families and men, and sexual harassment and assault are considered taboo topics. Sometimes they said that the solicitation of men was blatant: “Let me touch you,” one woman recalled being told. Otherwise, it was culturally coded: “I want to marry you,” or “Let’s go together somewhere.”
Tent camps for evacuated Palestinians spread among the ruins of a building destroyed by Israeli artillery fire in West Gaza city on Saturday, June 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Jehad alshrafi, file)
Aid groups and experts say exploitation often occurs in times of conflict and other despair, especially when people are evacuated and rely on aid. Reports of abuse and exploitation emerged during the South Sudan emergency; Burkina Faso, Congo, Chad and Haiti.
“The humanitarian crisis is the horrific reality that it makes people vulnerable in many ways – it increases Sexual violence “The situation in Gaza today is indescribable, especially for women and girls,” said Heather Barr, associate director of women’s rights at Human Rights Watch.
Four psychologists working with women in Gaza explained the patient’s accounts to the AP. One said that her organization – focusing on protecting women and children, and that she treated dozens of cases, including men who exploit sexually exploitable women, including those who became pregnant. All Palestinians working for local organisations in Gaza spoke on condition of anonymity due to privacy concerns for women involved and the sensitive nature of the incident. They said none of their patients would like to talk directly to the AP.
Five women who shared the story with the Associated Press said they were not engaged in sexual interactions with men. Psychologists said some of the women who came to them agreed to the man’s request, but others refused.
Six human rights and relief organizations, including the local Palestinian group The Women’s Affairs Center, told the AP they know reports of sexual abuse and exploitation related to aid, protecting against sexual exploitation and abuse networks coordinated with various aid groups, including UN agencies.
Aid groups say that the Gaza context – almost two years of war, displacement of at least 90% of the population, and disruption to aid access have particularly challenged humanitarian work for vulnerable people. As hunger and despair grow across the enclave, Especially women Say they’ve been pushed to make impossible decisions.
The group condemns the attacks and blockade of Israel’s humanitarian crisis, saying the war has made documented exploitation cases difficult. More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, part of Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The ministry does not say how many of the people killed are civilians or combatants, but it says women and children account for about half of the deaths.
“The Israeli siege to the Gaza Strip and restrictions on humanitarian assistance are forcing women to rely on this.”
Israel says it has taken steps to expand what comes to Gaza without restrictions on aid. Israel also accuses Hamas of sucking up aid without providing evidence of widespread diversion and denies institutions of failing to deliver the food it allowed.
(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)
Some say limited data is simply the tip of the iceberg.
One of the women who spoke to the Associated Press explained about the phone call that began in October, a year of the war. At first, she said the man’s question was simple. What happened to her husband? How many children did you have? But the 35-year-old widow said, his tone was in turn. What kind of underwear was she wearing? How did her husband please her?
She said she met a man from Mwasi, a land of Israel. She explained that with support, she was standing side by side to hand over a phone number to aid workers – Unrwa without a unified label, or Palestinians from the United Nations Relief Occupational Organization.
Shortly after he took her number, the late-night call began. He would ask sexual questions, she said, and she would remain silent. She said at one point he asked her to come for sex. She refused and after nearly 12 calls but no assistance she blocked his number, she added.
The woman said she reported him to Unrwa in Gaza with verbal complaints. She said she was told that a recording of the conversation was necessary as proof, but she had an old phone that she couldn’t record the phone.
Juliette Touma, director of Unrwa Communications, said in an email that the agency has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual exploitation, and that each report is taken seriously and does not require evidence. However, she does not say whether staff are aware of this particular case, cites Unrwa’s policy of discussing individual cases, and does not comment further on her perceptions or work on exploitation cases overall.
The PSEA network to which UNRWA belongs to state that survivors can report anonymously or without naming the perpetrator and do not need to provide evidence.
Understanding the scale of exploitation is challenging, said Sarah Achiro, coordinator of networks that function to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian and development environments. Gaza’s limited connectivity limits calls that could report abuse, and certain displacements make it difficult for survivors to seek in-person help and aid groups to build trust.
Achiro noted that sexual violence is highly underreported, especially in humanitarian and conflict environments.
The PSEA Network said it received 18 allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in connection with receipt of humanitarian assistance in Gaza last year. Claims against aid workers will be investigated by the employer organization. The network does not show the number of cases being investigated. This states that information cannot be disclosed unless formally concluded.
(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)
“I told myself that no one would believe it.”
Four of the women who spoke with the Associated Press said that the man who recruited them identified themselves as a helper worker, and in some cases community leaders would promise to help.
Like widows, some women said it happened while trying to register or register aid. The woman said all men were Palestinian. Several people said they were unable to identify the aid groups they thought were related to.
The United Nations and aid groups generally work with the local community. Paying people as contractors, using volunteers, or having a leader appointed as a liaison by the community.
The mother of six said the man who promised her a job had driven a car with the mark. After their interaction, she said the messages kept coming – late-night sexual appeal and photo requests. She explained that she would dodge them with excuses: she was busy, her phone was broken and she couldn’t speak.
However, about a month after the sexual interaction, she saw a man on aid site in December 2023. He helped her to win a six-month position in Unrwa, which she completed.
She told the AP that she never reported the man, their encounter, or his attempts to exploit him.
“I told myself that no one would believe it,” she said. “Maybe they’ll say I’m just saying this and they’re telling me to give me a job.”
Asked about the story of women, Touma from Unrwa highlighted the organization’s zero-tolerance policy and said he would seek more information on exploitation cases and accusations.
Interaction and her job, the woman is evacuated, has no work and is struggling to support her family. She blocked the number of guys, but he said he had tried to contact her recently as recently as he did this summer.
(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)
The group says exploitation is clearly rising despite the stigma
Some women say they were recruited multiple times by various men during the war.
The 37-year-old mother of four told the Associated Press that she had approached once and twice from the head of the shelter. She said that if she could “go somewhere together” like the ocean, the man offered food and shelter. She said she understands he wants sexuality. She refused.
Psychologists and a group of women said cases increased as the crisis worsened. One psychologist said that when her husband learned what happened, some women were kicked out.
Pre-war reports of exploitation occurred once or twice a year, but have risen dramatically, said Syam of the Women’s Affairs Center. However, she said many organizations would not emphasize numbers or issues.
“Most of us prefer to focus on the violence and violations committed by the Israeli occupation,” Saim said.
Israel says it is fighting to dismantle Hamas and release it hostage The 2023 attack that sparked war and to reduce the harm to civilians as much as possible.
The women who spoke with the Associated Press said it was important to try to preserve their dignity as the war continues.
Last fall, the 29-year-old mother said she received a call from aid workers asking her to marry him in exchange for dietary supplements for her four children.
She refused and blocked his number, she said, but he called from a different phone. He made the disgusting comment that she insisted she liked her and called her too vulgar for her to repeat.
“I was totally humiliated,” she said. “I had to go for the kids and ask for help. If I didn’t do that, who would do that?”
