After weeks of scraping by to feed her six children in Gaza, the 38-year-old woman thought she’d found a lifeline.

At a shelter, a friend told her about a man who could help with food, aid, maybe even a job.

The woman — separated from her husband, and forced to shutter the business that once kept the family afloat — approached him.

It was about a month into the war in Gaza, she said, and he promised her work, a six-month contract with an aid agency.

On the day she believed she'd sign the paperwork, he drove her not to an office but to an empty apartment.

He complimented her, she said, and told her to remove her headscarf.

He told her he loved her and wouldn't force her, she said, but he also wouldn't let her leave.

Eventually, they had a sexual encounter, she said.

She declined to give details of the nature of their interaction, saying she felt fear and shame.

Before she left, she said, he handed her some money — 100 shekels, about $30.

Two weeks later, he gave her a box of medicine and a box of food. But for weeks, the job didn't materialize.

As Gaza's humanitarian crisis grows, women say they have been exploited by local men — some associated with aid groups — promising food, money, water, supplies or work in exchange for sexual interactions.

Six women detailed their experiences to The Associated Press, each speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from their families or the men and because sexual harassment and assault are considered taboo topics.

Sometimes, they said, the men's solicitation was blatant: “Let me touch you,” one woman recalled being told. Other times, it was culturally coded: “I want to marry you,” or “Let's go together somewhere.”

Aid groups and experts say exploitation often arises during conflicts and other times of desperation, particularly when people are displaced and reliant on assistance.

Reports of abuse and exploitation have emerged during emergencies in South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Congo, Chad and Haiti.

Four psychologists working with women in Gaza described patients' accounts to AP.

One said her organization — focused on protecting women and children — treated dozens of cases involving men sexually exploiting vulnerable women, including some in which they became pregnant.

The psychologists, all Palestinians working for local organizations in Gaza, spoke on condition of anonymity because of privacy concerns for the women involved and the sensitive nature of the cases, in a conservative culture where sex outside of marriage in any context is seen as a grave offense. They said none of their patients wanted to speak with AP directly.

Five of the women who shared their stories with AP said they did not engage in sexual interaction with the men.

The psychologists said some women who came to them agreed to the men's demands, while others refused.

Six human rights and relief organizations — including the local Palestinian group the Women’s Affairs Center and the Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse network, which coordinates with various aid groups including United Nations agencies — told AP they were aware of reports of sexual abuse and exploitation linked to receiving aid.

Aid groups say the context in Gaza — nearly two years of war, the displacement of at least 90% of the population, and turmoil over aid access — has made humanitarian work for vulnerable people particularly challenging. As hunger and desperation grow across the enclave, women in particular say they've been pushed to make impossible decisions.

The groups blame Israel’s offensive and blockade for the humanitarian crisis and say the war has made documenting exploitation cases difficult.

More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals.

The ministry does not say how many of those killed were civilians or combatants, but it says women and children make up around half the fatalities.

Israel says there are no restrictions on aid and that it has taken steps to expand what comes into Gaza.

Israel also accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid — without providing evidence of widespread diversion — and blames U.N. agencies for failing to deliver food it has allowed in.

The U.N denies there is widespread aid diversion.