Gaza’s child marriages increased by 123% as families face desperation

I came across this today and it stopped me mid-scroll. Girls as young as 14 in Gaza are being married off, not because anyone wants this for them, but because their families have run out of other options. That’s the picture the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is painting in its latest figures, and it’s a hard one to sit with.

Here is what I found out. Between January and June 2026, reported forced and child marriages in Gaza rose by 123 per cent. That’s not a typo. It’s more than double what it was, in just six months.

If you’ve followed the news out of Gaza over the past couple of years, you’ll know families there are dealing with hunger, overcrowded shelters, no steady income and schools that have stopped functioning. UNFPA says these are exactly the pressures pushing families towards marrying off their daughters.

Why is this happening now?

This is the part that struck me most: child marriage in Gaza, and across Palestine more broadly, had actually been falling for years. It dropped from 26 per cent in 2009 to 11 per cent in 2022. That’s real progress, built up over more than a decade.

The war has reversed a lot of that in a short space of time. UNFPA points to a mix of poverty, hunger, the collapse of schooling and the loss of family income as the main drivers. For some parents living in crowded shelters with no reliable way to feed their children, marriage is being treated as a way to reduce the number of mouths to feed, or as a way to offer a daughter some protection in an environment that feels increasingly unsafe.

Nestor Owomuhangi, UNFPA’s Country Representative for the State of Palestine, put it plainly: “Girls in Gaza are not choosing marriage – they are being driven into it by hunger, fear and displacement.”

What’s happening to registration and records?

One detail worth sitting with: emergency court records show at least 400 girls between 14 and 16 were granted permission to marry during just four months in 2025. UNFPA says the real total is almost certainly higher, because Gaza’s registration systems have largely broken down, and many marriages are happening informally, outside any official record.

That matters because it means the 123 per cent figure, as alarming as it is, might still be an undercount of what’s actually happening on the ground.

The impact goes beyond the wedding itself

Marrying young doesn’t just change a girl’s legal status. UNFPA’s 2025 data shows adolescent birth rates in Gaza have more than doubled compared with before the war. With healthcare access severely limited across the territory, younger girls who become pregnant face a higher risk of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, often without proper medical support available.

There’s also the everyday safety angle. A UNFPA assessment carried out across 15 displacement sites in July found problems with lighting, privacy, water and sanitation at every single site. Women and girls told assessors they avoid moving around after dark and rely on others to accompany them just to feel safe.

<p>[EDITOR NOTE: a personal reflection on how this compares to other humanitarian crises you’ve followed, or a note on how readers in Kuwait can support verified relief efforts]</p>

What is being done about it?

UNFPA and its partner organisations have been expanding safe spaces for women and girls across Gaza, offering counselling and protection services. The number of people reached through these spaces has grown from 34,000 to 65,000 so far this year. It’s a meaningful increase, but set against the scale of what’s happening, it’s clearly not enough to reach everyone who needs it.

What this means for readers in Kuwait

Kuwait is home to a large Palestinian community, and news like this tends to land close to home for a lot of readers here, whether through family ties, friendships or simply a sense of shared concern. Many in Kuwait also support humanitarian organisations working in Gaza, and figures like these are a reminder of why that support still matters months and years into this crisis.

It’s also worth remembering this isn’t only a story about marriage statistics. It’s about a generation of girls who, in ordinary times, would still be in school, and instead are facing adult responsibilities years before they’re ready for them.

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