The mortality toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas war is estimated to have been almost 40% higher than that reported by the health ministry of the Palestinian enclave, according to research published on Friday in The Lancet medical magazine.
Since Israel began its military assault against Hamas in response to the Palestinian militant group’s historic October 7, 2023 attack, the number of people killed in Gaza has become a contentious issue.
According to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, 37,877 people had died in the conflict as of June 30 of last year.
But according to the latest peer-reviewed study, there were between 55,298 and 78,525 traumatic injury deaths in Gaza by that time, based on data from the ministry, an online poll, and social media obituaries.
The health ministry had underreported the number of deaths up to that point by 41%, according to the study’s best estimate of 64,260 deaths.
That number accounted for 2.9% of Gaza’s pre-war population, “or approximately one in 35 inhabitants,” according to the report.
According to the UK-led team of experts, women, children, and the elderly accounted for 59% of the fatalities.
The toll only included deaths from physical injuries; it excluded deaths from malnutrition or lack of medical attention, as well as the thousands of people who are thought to be buried beneath the debris.
The death toll cannot be independently confirmed by AFP.
On Thursday, Gaza’s health ministry said that 46,006 people had died over the full 15 months of war.
In Israel, the 2023 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel has repeatedly questioned the credibility of the Gaza health ministry’s figures, but the United Nations have said they are reliable.
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