DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Strip’s Health Ministry announced on Thursday that over 40,000 Palestinians have died in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The ministry, operating in Hamas-controlled Gaza, also reported that the Israeli offensive has left 92,401 people injured and displaced over 85% of the population from their homes. Notably, the ministry’s casualty count does not differentiate between civilians and militants.
This announcement came amidst renewed efforts from international mediators to secure a ceasefire in the war, which has now entered its eleventh month.
The conflict ignited on October 7 after militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people — the majority of whom were civilians — and the abduction of around 250 hostages to Gaza.
Israel states that 111 of the captives remain unreleased, including the bodies of 39. Among the hostages are 15 women and two children under the age of 5.
In Gaza, health officials have faced challenges in fully identifying the deceased due to the overwhelming influx of bodies into hospitals and morgues. Amidst the chaos of war and displacement, they are compiling the count.
In its most recent detailed report on the fatalities, released on Thursday, the ministry reported a death toll of 40,005. Health officials and civil defense workers maintain that the true number of deaths is likely significantly higher, as many bodies remain buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed in airstrikes.
Israel’s aerial and ground offensive in Gaza has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history.
The bombardment and shelling have claimed the lives of entire Palestinian families. With cemeteries often inaccessible, families fleeing Israeli airstrikes are burying their dead wherever possible — in backyards, along roadsides, and beneath the staircases of their homes.
Israel asserts that its aim is to eliminate Hamas. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths, arguing that militants operate within civilian areas and have constructed extensive tunnel networks beneath them. Israeli forces have regularly targeted mosques, schools, hospitals, and cemeteries, alleging that fighters or tunnels are located there, often resulting in civilian casualties.
The fighting has also resulted in the deaths of 329 Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military claims that approximately 15,000 Hamas fighters are among those killed in Gaza but has not provided evidence.
Nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes, fleeing multiple times across the territory to escape ground offensives. During the war, thousands within Israel and in southern Lebanon have also been displaced.
The assault has created a profound humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The entire territory is at a heightened risk of famine, and over 495,000 people — exceeding a fifth of the population — are projected to experience the most severe level of hunger in the coming months, according to the latest report from the leading authority on measuring hunger.
Sanitation systems have been destroyed, leaving pools of sewage and mounds of garbage in tent camps overflowing with displaced families.
The offensive likely damaged or destroyed 59% of all structures in Gaza by July 3, including 70% of buildings in northern Gaza, according to an analysis of satellite data by Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek, experts in mapping damage during war.
The conflict has ignited concerns about a broader regional war, with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Israeli military engaging in almost daily fire exchanges along their shared border.
Over 500 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, including roughly 350 Hezbollah members and 50 fighters from other militant groups, with the remainder being civilians. In Israel, 22 soldiers and 24 civilians have been killed.
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Frankel reported from Jerusalem.