The ongoing conflict and widespread displacement in Gaza has triggered a significant surge in child marriages, with families in desperate circumstances arranging marriages for daughters as young as 13 years old, seeking to provide them with safety and economic stability.
The Associated Press conducted interviews with six young girls in Gaza, ages 13 to 16, who entered into marriages, along with their families. Among these girls, two reported experiencing repeated sexual assault and severe physical violence. Four had already given birth and described high-risk pregnancies, while three experienced at least one pregnancy loss.
Government statistics reveal an uptick in underage marriages, reversing a downward trend that had been occurring prior to the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the current conflict, which is now temporarily halted by an unstable ceasefire.
Every parent interviewed by the Associated Press stated that without the war’s circumstances, they would never have considered arranging such early marriages for their children.
The report highlights key findings from these interviews and data analysis.
One mother, identified only as Majda, was interviewed while residing in a deteriorated tent following the deaths of her spouse and oldest son in military strikes. The vast majority of Gaza’s residents have been forced to evacuate their homes, with hundreds of thousands now living in overcrowded, unsanitary temporary camps offering minimal security or privacy, depending on charitable organizations for sustenance.
Facing extreme poverty and overwhelmed by loss, Majda arranged marriages for her daughters, ages 13 and 14, to two brothers in their twenties.
“I thought I was protecting them,” she said. “Fear was slaughtering me.”
Both daughters reported that their spouses sexually assaulted them and that their new families physically abused them. The younger daughter experienced two pregnancy losses, both occurring after her husband physically attacked her during pregnancy.
The six girls and their families agreed to participate in interviews only under the condition that their complete identities remain confidential due to the extremely sensitive nature of the subject matter. The Associated Press maintains a policy of not identifying victims of sexual assault. Majda consented to being identified solely by her given name.
Majda’s older daughter delivered a baby boy. Several months afterward, she escaped, traveling 15 kilometers (9 miles) on foot while carrying her infant to reach her mother’s shelter. Shortly thereafter, her younger sister also returned to Majda while expecting another child.
Majda faced intense pressure from her father and her daughters’ in-laws, who argued she lacked the resources to support both daughters, her grandson, and the expected newborn.
Believing she had no alternative, she agreed to their demands. The daughters were sent back to their spouses in early May. Since that time, Majda has been unable to establish contact with either daughter.
“They did not want to return,” she said. “They were crying.”
Gaza’s legal framework permits exceptions to the 17-year minimum marriage age when parents provide consent and a judge grants authorization. Court administrators have received instructions to reject exception requests for individuals younger than 14 years and seven months, though some families create unofficial arrangements that bypass these regulations.
The United Nations and most humanitarian organizations classify marriages involving girls under 18 as early marriages.
The majority of girls interviewed by the Associated Press indicated their parents did not force them into marriage. However, they expressed feeling obligated to reduce their families’ financial strain.
Through marriage, they became eligible to receive aid as independent family units with their spouses, rather than being included in their parents’ assistance allocation. Multiple girls also noted that with educational institutions largely closed during the conflict, they perceived no opportunity to continue their studies.
“Marriage felt like the only sense of normalcy I could restore to my life,” said a girl who agreed to be married at 17.
Girls who marry at younger ages face increased risks of sexual violence and abuse, including mistreatment from their spouse’s family, explained Amal Siyam, director of the Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza. Given the high rate of divorce in early marriages, “the girl ends up returning home with one or two children,” she said.
Prior to the conflict, child marriage rates had been gradually decreasing in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. In 2022, the most recent data released by the bureau, 17.8% of all marriages included a bride under 18, representing a decline from over 22% in 2015.
This positive trend appears to have been reversed.
Following a request from the Associated Press, the Supreme Shariah Court in Gaza, which handles marriage registration, compiled information from court staff. Their data indicates that 20.6% of the 35,474 marriages documented in 2024 and 2025 involved brides under 18, including 627 marriages of girls younger than 15.
The actual percentage is likely significantly higher since many marriages have not been officially registered amid the wartime disruption, Siyam noted. The total count of marriage contracts processed by the Shariah court decreased by 35% in 2024, the first complete year of the conflict.
