The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported on Saturday (January 11, 2025) that 32 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory in the past 48 hours, bringing the total death toll to 46,537.
According to the ministry, at least 109,571 individuals have been injured in over 15 months of conflict between Israel and Hamas, which was sparked by an attack by the Palestinian group on October 7, 2023.
On Saturday (January 11, 2025), the health ministry added 499 more deaths to the total, stating that they had now finalized the data and verified the identities of individuals whose information was previously incomplete.
An official in the ministry’s data collection department informed AFP that all 499 of the additional deaths occurred in the past few months.
The number of casualties in Gaza has been a contentious issue since Israel initiated its military operation against Hamas following the group’s attack last year.
Israeli officials have repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the figures provided by the Gaza health ministry.
However, a study published on Friday (January 11, 2025) in the British medical journal The Lancet estimated that the actual death toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas conflict was approximately 40% higher than the ministry’s recorded numbers.
This new study, which underwent peer review, utilized data from the ministry, an online survey, and social media obituaries, focusing solely on deaths resulting from traumatic injuries and excluding those caused by a lack of medical care or food, as well as the many individuals believed to be trapped under debris.
The United Nations regards the figures provided by the Gaza health ministry as reliable.
Published – January 11, 2025 08:07 pm IST
