A new study published in the prestigious medical journal 'The Lancet' indicates that the actual death toll of the conflict in the Gaza Strip is significantly higher than official reports suggested. According to an international research team, over 75,000 people were killed in the first sixteen months of hostilities. These figures challenge previous statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, suggesting a massive undercount of the war's tragic consequences and the enormous scale of civilian casualties.

Undercount of casualties

The study found that 75,200 people were killed, which is 25,000 more than official sources in Gaza reported for the same period.

Civilians as primary victims

As many as 56.2% of the deceased are women, children, and the elderly, highlighting the lack of protection for the civilian population during military operations.

Rigorous scientific methodology

The analysis published in 'The Lancet' is based on interviews in 2,000 households and underwent a scientific peer-review process.

Analysis conducted by international experts and published in 'The Lancet Global Health' sheds new light on the scale of the humanitarian disaster in the region. The study, based on an analysis of two thousand households representing the demographic structure of the territory, found that the number of violent deaths between October 2023 and early 2025 was at least 75,200 people. This is approximately 25,000 higher than the official data presented by local authorities during that period. The report's authors emphasize that as many as 56.2% of the victims are women, children, and the elderly, demonstrating the immense suffering of the most vulnerable groups. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the Gaza Strip has continued intermittently since 1948, when, following the establishment of the State of Israel, the region became a site of mass influx of Palestinian refugees and a flashpoint for numerous wars in the Middle East. The Gaza Ministry of Health, though previously accused of inflating statistics, may in reality not have had a full picture of the situation due to the destruction of administrative infrastructure and difficulties in reporting deaths under rubble. Professor Michael Spagat, one of the study's authors, notes that the research underwent a rigorous peer review process, confirming the credibility of the presented conclusions. Data was collected through direct interviews with residents, allowing for the inclusion of death cases that never made it into hospital records. 75,200 — confirmed fatalities in 16 months The current findings coincide with increasing criticism of military actions in the international arena. Medical circles warn that, in addition to victims of direct military actions, thousands suffer due to deliberate starvation and the complete paralysis of the healthcare system. Experts indicate that the actual death toll may be even higher when considering indirect deaths resulting from a lack of medicine, clean water, and epidemics of infectious diseases. The publication in 'The Lancet' constitutes the most serious scientific evidence to date that the scale of human losses in the Gaza Strip has been systematically underreported to the public. Official data: 50, Lancet data: 75.2 The study confirmed that local statistics were undercounted by at least 25,000 victims due to data collection methodology in wartime conditions. Liberal media emphasize the tragic humanitarian dimension and scientific confirmation of the scale of Palestinian suffering. | Conservative media may question the credibility of data from territory controlled by Hamas and the research methodology.

Mentioned People

  • Michael Spagat — Professor, one of the authors of the study published in the journal The Lancet.