Research from throughout the world points to the differential effects of wars, natural disasters, health and economic crises on women and men, and to the fact that the harm suffered by women as a result of such crises points to the need for gender-sensitive policies at all levels of decision-making. Gender-sensitive policies are also needed in order to ensure that crises do not widen existing gender gaps.

In Israel, although it appeared that the negative effects of an earlier crisis on women, the Corona epidemic, were known, the October 2023 war revealed that there was still a lot to learn, reflected in the failure to identify women’s needs in various areas of life, as well as in the lack of suitable responses. Thus, the present war has caused a widening of gender gaps, among others with regard to decision-making, employment, the increased difficulty of balancing salaried work and care work for family members, physical and mental health, and the prevalence of family violence.

The aim of the present study is to examine the gender aspects of the October 2023 “Iron Swords” war that followed the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, in view of international research on the unique gender effects of crises and emergencies on women, with reference to the gender effects of another crisis – the Corona epidemic. Firstly, we will present a survey of the literature on the gender impacts of crises and emergency situations. Then, following a short description of our methodology, we will present findings regarding the negative effects of the October 2023 war on women in Israel, wherever possible, with reference to the Corona epidemic. In the last part of the study, we will present insights and directions for policy-making. This is the first study in a series in which we examine a number of central issues from a gender point of view: political representation and influence, employment, violence against women, women’s needs for social services, and the political silencing and persecution of Arab women in Israel. Due to the lack of data, and to the fact that we are still at war, the present study will not cover all the issues. In the future, we hope to examine additional areas of life, among them education and economic security.

Although we focus on the effects of the war on the lives of Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel, we are well aware that the present war has serious effects on the lives of Palestinian women living in Gaza and the West Bank, whose voices are neither heard nor reflected in Israeli dialogue vis-à-vis the war. We are also well aware, of course, that the war has horrendous effects on men.