The figure is thought to be a significant underestimate
The number of confirmed Palestinians killed in the Israeli onslaught has surpassed 50,000. The number produced by the Gaza Health Ministry is considered a low count by international observers.
According to the numbers released by the Gaza Health Ministry on Sunday, 50,021 Palestinians have been killed and 113,274 wounded since October 7, 2023. Of the 50,000 dead, 14,500 are children.
The number of Palestinians killed by Israel has surged in the past week as Tel Aviv broke a ceasefire and hostage exchange, which saw less fighting in Gaza and the return of 30 Israeli hostages in recent weeks. The deal was slated to continue into phase 2, when the remainder of the captives would have been released by Hamas.
Since breaking the ceasefire last week, Israel has killed at least 670 Palestinians, including hundreds of children. Israeli forces are targeting Palestinian medical facilities. On Friday, Israel used explosives to flatten Gaza’s lone cancer treatment facility. On Sunday, Israel bombed the emergency unit of Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, killing at least five.
The death toll reported by the Health Ministry is an official count of Palestinians killed and who had their remains brought to a hospital or morgue. The count does not include the 11,000 missing Gazans who are presumed to be dead and their bodies buried under the rubble.
Last summer, the British medical journal The Lancet published a study arguing the true death toll could exceed 186,000. “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza,” the authors explained.
A second study published in The Lancet earlier this year concluded that life expectancy in Gaza had nearly dropped by half, from 75.5 to just over 40, during the Israeli onslaught. In September, 99 American healthcare workers who volunteered in Gaza estimated the death toll to be at least 118,000.
Reprint from Antiwar.com
