One in Every Hundred Lives Lost: Gaza's Devastating Death Toll Since October 7th
One in every 100 people in Gaza has tragically lost their lives since the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, devastatingly impacting one in 120 children
Since the war between Israel and Hamas started on October 7, Palestinian statistics show that about 1 in every 100 people in Gaza has been killed. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah reported on Monday that at least 22,835 people have been killed in the besieged enclave since the war began.
The staggering death toll of 1% of the enclave's pre-war population of 2.27 million people has been wiped out. Additionally, the ministry reports that 58,416 people have been injured, meaning more than one in 40 Gazans has been wounded in the conflict. The ministry collects its data from hospitals in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported last month that for every Hamas militant, they believed they had killed two Palestinian civilians, a ratio that an IDF spokesperson described as "tremendously positive" to CNN at the time. Israel has also stated that over 8,000 of the deceased were militants.
The IDF initiated its operation in Gaza immediately following a terror attack by Hamas into southern Israel on October 7. This attack resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and the kidnapping of around 200 others. Some of the hostages taken to Gaza have since been released by Hamas in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
As of last week, the Israeli government believed 132 hostages from October 7 were still being held in Gaza, of whom dozens are thought dead.
Relatives solemnly bear the children from the Abu Quta family who were victims of Israeli airstrikes in the Palestinian city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as they gather for their funeral on October 8, 2023.
(Image credit: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images)
One in 120 children is dead
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that more than 5,300 of the dead are women and more than 9,000 were children.
Gaza's pre-war child population is around 1.1 million, according to UNICEF. This equates to approximately one child out of every 120 in the enclave being killed. Additionally, Save the Children reported that on average, more than 10 children in Gaza have lost one or both of their legs every day since October.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached a critical level, with international organizations issuing warnings that people are in danger of starving. UNRWA reports that 90% of Gazans have been forced to leave their homes.
Palestinians gather to perform prayers over the bodies of those killed in the Israeli bombardment, which were transported from the Shifa hospital to be laid to rest in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
Mohammed Dahman/AP
UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths said last week that famine was "around the corner" as people in Gaza face the "highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded."
UNICEF stated last month that the youngest children are the most vulnerable to starvation. The children's aid organization predicts that in the next few weeks, "at least 10,000 children under five years old will experience the most severe form of malnutrition, called severe wasting, and will require therapeutic foods."
The absence of proper sanitation in the overcrowded areas of southern Gaza has resulted in the rapid transmission of contagious and respiratory illnesses. Even common diseases that are typically treatable have become fatal due to the absence of essential medical supplies.
