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.

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