In brief
Research conducted by epidemiologists estimates the death toll in Gaza during the early months of the conflict could be upwards of 64,300, overshadowing earlier figures reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which documented about 37,900 casualties.
The analysis, featured in The Lancet, indicates that the estimated figure represents about 2.9 percent of Gaza's pre-war population, with the majority of victims being women, children, and elderly individuals. This study aims to provide an objective assessment, contrasting with reliance on the Hamas-led health ministry's statistics, which have faced skepticism from Israel, labeling them as inflated. The timeframe for this analysis spans from October 2023 through June 2024, and the research does not encompass other potential war-related fatalities tied to malnutrition or health system collapses. Notably, experts in casualty estimation, not part of the study, have expressed agreement with the findings indicative of a higher casualty count.
