Civilians made up '15 of every 16 killed by Israel in Gaza since March'

Almost 15 of every 16 Palestinians the Israeli military has killed since its renewed offensive in Gaza began have been civilians, data collected by the independent violence-tracking organisation Acled indicates.

- Jason Burke

The civilian death rate implied by a report from Acled, which stands for Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, is one of the highest recorded during the conflict, and will increase international pressure on Israel as its forces advance into Gaza City, forcing up to a million people to evacuate and threatening further casualties.

Researchers from Acled, which is backed by western governments and the UN, tracked reports of losses sustained by Hamas and allied groups in Gaza from the Israeli military, reliable local and international media, statements from Hamas and other sources over a six-month period.

"Since 18 March, Israel claims it killed more than 2,100 operatives, though Acled data indicates that the number is closer to 1,100 and includes Hamas' political figures, as well as fighters from other groups," the report said.

More than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel broke a two-month ceasefire in March with a huge wave of airstrikes across the devastated territory, according to statistics published by the UN.

Military officials briefed the 2,100 figure to Israeli media in mid-August and internal Israeli estimates may have risen since. Acled's researchers may also not have captured all combatant deaths over the entire six-month period, but their total does include Hamas political figures.