https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/19/gaza-death-toll-higher-than-reported-lancet-study
Lancet Global Health research suggests more than 75,000 killed in period, 25,000 more than announced at the time
More than 75,000 people were killed in the first 16 months of the two-year war in Gaza, at least 25,000 more than the death toll announced by local authorities at the time, according to a study published on Wednesday in the Lancet Global Health medical journal.
The research also found that reporting by the Gaza health ministry about the proportion of women, children and elderly people among those killed was accurate.
A total of 42,200 women, children and elderly people died between 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel that prompted a devastating Israeli offensive into Gaza, and 5 January 2025, the study found. These deaths comprised 56% of violent deaths in Gaza.
“The combined evidence suggests that, as of 5 January 2025, 3-4% of the population of the Gaza Strip had been killed violently and there have been a substantial number of non-violent deaths caused indirectly by the conflict,” the authors of the study, a team including an economist, demographer, epidemiologist and survey specialists, wrote in the Lancet Global Health.
The exact death toll in Gaza has been bitterly disputed, although last month a senior Israeli security officer told Israeli journalists that figures compiled by health authorities in Gaza were broadly accurate, marking a U-turn after years of official attacks on the data.
The officer was quoted as saying that about 70,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks on the territory since October 2023, excluding those missing.
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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/19/gaza-death-toll-higher-than-reported-lancet-study
