Medical Research: The Number of War Victims in Gaza is at Least 40% Higher than Official Statistics

According to the results of a new study published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet, the number of casualties from Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip is at least 40% higher than the figures reported by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. The Gaza Ministry of Health, which operates under the extremist group Hamas, has regularly published casualty statistics since the onset of the Israeli attack in response to Hamas's assault on Israeli territory. Because the Gaza Strip is solely under the control of Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and Europe, the casualty and injury statistics in this region have also been reported by this ministry. Israel does not allow foreign and international journalists into Gaza, which has prevented international media from independently assessing the casualty figures of the Gaza war. According to the ministry's statistics, over 46,000 people have lost their lives as a result of Israeli military operations from October 8, 2023, to January 2025. In contrast, the recent study from the Lancet indicates that over 64,000 people had died in the Gaza war during the first 9 months of the Israeli attack, up until the end of June 2024. This research did not provide a separate estimate of the number of Hamas members and Palestinian fighters killed. Based on this, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health had estimated the number of casualties in Gaza to be approximately 41% lower. During this same 9-month period, according to the group's statistics, nearly 38,000 people had died in Gaza. Of the 64,260 people reported killed in Gaza according to the Lancet study, 59% were women, children, and individuals over 65 years old. This figure only includes deaths due to war and military attacks and does not account for deaths in Gaza from food shortages, lack of healthcare, or those trapped under rubble. Thus, one in every 35 residents of Gaza has died in a war that shows no signs of ending. Meanwhile, according to the Guardian newspaper, based on estimates from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, aside from the casualties reported by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, an additional 11,000 people should be considered 'missing' or 'likely dead.' In response to this research, a senior Israeli official told the Guardian that the Israeli armed forces have made significant efforts to prevent civilian casualties and that 'the figures presented in this report do not reflect the real situation on the ground.' This research, reported on Thursday, January 20, in the Lancet, was conducted by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University in the U.S., and several other institutions and organizations. They used a methodology for data collection that has been applied in the wars in Guatemala, Kosovo, Peru, and Colombia, and according to an independent researcher speaking to AFP, it is a method that 'has proven itself well.' As noted in the Lancet study, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health was previously considered reliable for statistical assessments in the Gaza Strip, but since Israeli military operations have severely damaged medical and health infrastructure in Gaza, the ministry's capacity for data collection has also diminished. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as shelters and shields. Hamas has repeatedly denied this accusation. On the day of the attack on October 7, 2023, Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took around 250 hostages, of which 98 are still held, alive or deceased. The number of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza war has also been reported to be around 700 in the past 15 months.