PORTLAND, USA, Nov 14 (IPS) – Tragically, the number of deaths of men, women and children in Israel and the Gaza strip reached unprecedented levels following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
After more than a month of fighting, reported death figures are changing and are constantly revised and updated as the war continues.
The estimated number of deaths between October 7 and November 13 provides a preliminary assessment of the magnitude of the death toll among Israelis and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as well as others (Table 1).
According to Israeli officials, the revised number of Israeli deaths – with approximately 70 percent of them having been identified as civilians – resulting from the Hamas attack in southern Israel is estimated at approximately 1,200.
Among those killed in Israel on October 7 also included foreigners and Double nationality. At least 31 American citizens, 39 French citizens and 34 Thai citizens were killed in the attacks, according to authorities in those countries. The Israeli military also reported that 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in the October 7 attack.
During the October 7 attack, Israeli authorities reported that more than 240 individuals over 40 countriesincluding young children and the elderly, were taken away hostage and is believed to be held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza.
Approximately 20 hostages would later die as a result of the conflict. In addition to these estimated deaths, at least 46 Israeli soldiers have reportedly been killed in action since the start of the land invasion.
With a total population of approximately 9.8 million, the Israeli mortality rate resulting from the current conflict between Israel and Hamas is approximately 13 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
In response to the Hamas attack on October 7, the death toll from Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip is estimated, as of November 13, at 11,240 Palestinians with an estimate 4,630 be children, depending on health civil servants in Gaza.
However, the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip could even be upper than to be cited, given its dense boundaries and with approximately 2,700 people were reported missing.
With a total population estimated at 2.2 million In the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian mortality rate of the Gaza population due to the Israeli-Hamas conflict is approximately 510 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
In addition to the Israeli and Palestinian deaths in Israel and Gaza since October 7, others have been killed. Almost 200 Palestinians in the Western Bank reportedly killed amid surge in Israeli military troop numbers raids and incursions.
Also, 101 employees United Nations officials have been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). The agency stressed that it is the deadliest conflict never achieved for the UN in such a short time.
Moreover, at least 42 journalists and media workers covering the conflict were killed.
The various estimates of deaths resulting from the Israel-Hamas conflict presented above continue to be revised and updated. After the current hostilities between Israel and Hamas end, a comprehensive assessment will be necessary to provide a more accurate and detailed picture of those who died as a result of the conflict.
Unfortunately, the death toll from the conflict between Israel and Hamas is already too high. As some have pointed out, far too many people have been killed and far too many have suffered in the current cycle of fighting. It is also important, as many around the world are asking, that it is time for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate ” ??????? “, ” ???? “, or one “peace” solution is now.
Joseph Chamié is a consulting demographer, former director of the United Nations Population Division and author of numerous publications on demographic issues, including his recent book, “Population levels, trends and differentials”.
© Inter Press Service (2023) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
