Lancet study estimates that the death toll in Gaza is 40% higher than previously recorded
A recent study featured in the UK’s Lancet medical journal reveals that the death toll in Gaza during the initial nine months of the conflict is approximately 40 percent higher than the numbers reported by the Palestinian health ministry.
A study featured in the medical journal The Lancet on Friday indicates that nearly 2.9% of Gaza’s population prior to the conflict—equating to roughly one in every 35 residents—were fatalities of Israeli military operations up to the end of July 2024.
As of June 30th of the previous year, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the conflict had resulted in a toll of 37,877 fatalities.
According to the study’s findings, the actual death toll is estimated at approximately 64,260, suggesting that the health ministry may have under-reported the fatalities by 41 percent.
A recent study, drawing on data provided by the ministry, an online questionnaire, and social media tributes, estimates that traumatic injuries in Gaza have resulted in between 55,298 and 78,525 fatalities.
The reported figures do not account for fatalities resulting from inadequate access to healthcare or food, nor do they include the thousands of individuals who remain missing and are feared to be trapped beneath debris.
A recent United Nations report has estimated that approximately 10,000 individuals reported missing in Gaza are likely trapped beneath debris.
The death toll in Gaza has become a highly contentious issue following Israel’s military offensive on the blockaded territory, which began on October 7, 2023. This action was in response to a significant operation by the Palestinian group Hamas, launched as a reprisal against what they described as escalating acts of aggression towards the Palestinian populace.
On Thursday, the health ministry in Gaza reported that over the span of the 15-month conflict, a total of 46,006 individuals have lost their lives.
