Study: Gaza death toll underestimated by 40%, 25,000 deaths unaccounted for

The death toll from Israel’s unrelenting war on the besieged Gaza Strip may have been underestimated by 40%, an analysis published in The Lancet suggests.

Since October 7, the United Nations has been relying on figures published by the health ministry in Gaza, which it says are accurate despite Israeli criticism claiming the numbers are inflated.

But the new analysis, led by epidemiologists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, suggests that the Gaza health ministry’s tally is significantly lowerA than the real death toll.

According to the researchers, about 64,300 people were killed in the strip from October 2023 to June 2024, as opposed to the 37,900 reported by the Gaza health ministry.

Additionally, the study found that 59% of the deceased were women, children and elderly people.