More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military offensive, according to figures released by the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The ministry said a total of 50,021 people had died since the start of the conflict, representing approximately 2.1% of Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million or around one in every 46 residents. It also reported that 113,274 others have been injured over the same period.
Figures provided by the Gaza Ministry of Health have been widely cited throughout the conflict and are regarded as reliable by the United Nations and several international bodies.
However, Israeli authorities have consistently challenged the accuracy of the data published by officials in Gaza.
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Due to Israel’s restrictions, foreign media, including the BBC, have been barred from entering Gaza independently, making it difficult to verify casualty figures from either side.
The ministry’s statistics do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. In November, the UN’s Human Rights Office stated that its analysis indicated nearly 70% of verified fatalities over a six-month span were women and children.
In January, a study published in The Lancet suggested the actual death toll could be significantly higher than reported, potentially by as much as 41%.
The conflict began on 7 October 2023, following an attack by Hamas on Israel that left around 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel’s military campaign in response has led to widespread devastation across Gaza, with thousands killed or wounded and large-scale damage to homes and infrastructure.
On Sunday, the health ministry also reported at least 39 additional deaths in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of people killed to 673 since Israel resumed military operations in the territory last Tuesday.
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