A study published in The Lancet medical journal suggests that the death toll from the war in Gaza could be substantially higher than official figures reported by the Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at 41 per cent more than the ministry’s reported total of 37,877.
The findings highlight the human cost of the war on Gaza, which began on 7 October 2023. According to the health ministry, over 46,000 people—mostly civilians—have been killed. However, the UK-led study suggests these figures might not reflect the full scale of the tragedy.
Employing the “capture-recapture” statistical method, researchers analyzed hospital records, obituaries, and an online survey of relatives to estimate a potential death toll ranging between 55,298 and 78,525.
The study noted challenges in identifying deaths caused by “traumatic injuries” across datasets, which could have skewed the estimates. Despite this, the report highlights that a significant portion of the victims with available sex and age data were women, children, or elderly individuals.
The Israeli government has previously dismissed the health ministry’s statistics, asserting that data originating from Gaza is unreliable due to Hamas’s control. In August, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed to have eliminated over 17,000 Hamas fighters, though the basis for this figure remains unclear. The IDF maintains that it targets combatants and strives to minimize civilian casualties.
In contrast, international organizations like the United Nations have generally treated the health ministry’s figures as credible. A recent UN report stated that women and children accounted for the majority of verified casualties over a six-month period.
Comments (0)