What do the numbers say about war casualties in the Gaza Strip? Who paid the highest price?

What do the numbers say about war casualties in the Gaza Strip? Who paid the highest price?

Published 3 minutes ago

Reading time: 6 minutes

Behind the numbers of war dead in the Gaza Strip, striking observations appear, including that the groups that were supposed to have the greatest chances of survival constituted a large percentage of the death toll.

The most vulnerable groups in the besieged Palestinian Strip paid a heavy price in the war and accounted for the majority of the death toll.

According to demographic data issued by the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, for the period from October 7, 2023 to September 8, 2026, more than half of the dead were children, women, and the elderly, at a rate of more than 52 percent, out of more than 74,000 dead.

The data showed that the first two months of the war were the bloodiest, after 10,803 people were killed in (October 2023), and in (November 2023) 9,955 people were killed.

The figures, seen by the BBC, indicate that the monthly death toll of children and women constituted the majority until June 2025, without counting the elderly.

As military operations continued, the most vulnerable groups (children, women, and the elderly) continued to represent the largest percentage of recorded deaths.

According to statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 74,243 people were killed in the war as a result of military actions, including at least 1,115 infants, while more than 175,000 injuries were recorded, as of October 5, 2026.

REUTERS

74,243

The number of deaths in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli attack since October 7, 2023

175,232 Number of casualties during the Israeli attack