Gaza toll 'undercounted'

ISRAEL ATTACKS: STUDY FINDS DEATHS 40% MORE THAN INITIAL ESTIMATES

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Research published in The Lancet medical journal yesterday estimates that the death toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas war was about 40% higher than recorded by the Palestinian territory's health ministry.

The number of dead in Gaza has become a matter of bitter debate since Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas in response to the Palestinian militant group's unprecedented 7 October 2023 attack.

Up to 30 June last year, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported a death toll of 37,877 in the war.

However, the new peer-reviewed study used data from the ministry, an online survey and social media obituaries to estimate that there were between 55,298 and 78,525 deaths from traumatic injuries in Gaza by that time.

The study's best death toll estimate was 64,260, which would mean the health ministry had under-reported the number of deaths to that point by 41%.