“I Stand So My Children Don’t Fall”: Gazan Widowhood, Structural Violence, and Survival Under Siege

This study investigates the intersectional challenges confronting Gazan widows during the Israeli-led genocide and military blockade, using in-depth interviews with thirty internally displaced widows in Rafah. Using thematic content analysis informed by an intersectional framework, it shows how bereavement, displacement, institutional collapse, economic hardship, and patriarchal control undermine health and call for justice-centered interventions that uphold widows’ human dignity. The analysis identifies six interrelated themes, including the compounded effects of widowhood and forced displacement, war-related physical and psychological injury, economic precarity, inadequate shelter, barriers to accessing essential services, and faith-based religious coping in the absence of institutional protection.