War in Gaza Drives Rise in Child Marriages, Court Data Shows

Overview

• Supreme Shariah Court figures for 2024–2025 show 20.6% of 35,474 recorded marriages involved a girl under 18, including 627 marriages of girls under 15.
• Child marriage had been falling before the war, with the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reporting 17.8% of marriages involved a girl under 18 in 2022.
• Families told reporters they used marriage to reduce household burdens, to be counted as new households for aid distributions, and because school closures removed the promise of continuing education.
• Interviews with six girls who married between ages 13 and 16 described repeated rape, severe physical abuse, dangerous pregnancies and multiple miscarriages, showing acute health and safety harms.
• Experts warn the official data likely undercount the problem because many marriages went unregistered during mass displacement and Gaza law permits judge-approved exceptions to the minimum age.