gaza-death-toll-exceeds-40-000-since-oct-7-hamas-attack

Gaza's death toll surpasses 40,000 as the conflict with Israel enters its 11th month says Gaza’s health ministry that the UN considers credible.

 

This figure represents nearly 2 per cent of Gaza’s prewar population, yet it excludes those still buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings.

 

 Dr Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, noted that about 10,000 victims remain entombed due to a lack of heavy equipment and fuel for recovery efforts.

 

The war has also caused indirect casualties. Mass displacement, hunger, and chronic shortages of clean water and sanitation have led to spread of diseases.

 

Hospitals have been bombed, besieged, and left without essential supplies. Victims of indirect impacts, such as disease and starvation, have not been included in the official war dead count. A committee will be formed to document these casualties post-war.

 

Among the overlooked are Gaza resident Rania Abu Samra’s grandmother, Hania, who died after walking from northern Gaza to the south, and her father, Adnan, who succumbed to a chest infection after being turned away from overcrowded hospitals.

 

The Israeli blockade and ongoing conflict have crippled infrastructure, leading to widespread suffering.

 

Israeli officials, however, dispute the death toll provided by Gaza authorities, citing Hamas's control over the region.

 

However, UN investigators previously found Gaza's figures to be generally accurate. By mid-August, 32,280 victims of the conflict had been identified by name, most considered civilians due to their age or gender.

 

The conflict has left thousands dealing with grief and trauma, living in constant fear of further attacks.

 

Parents whose children were killed in an airstrike now live in tents with their surviving children and are known to suffer from nightmares and a phobia of buildings.

 

Additionally, the ongoing war in Gaza has left parents mourning their children and children orphaned.

 

Meanwhile, according to rights organisations and human rights advocates, properly documenting the war-related casualties in Gaza will take longer than expected due to the hundreds of people buried under the rubble from Israeli bombardment.