OMM Redaksiyası
More than 74,200 Palestinians have been reported killed in Gaza during three years of war, while nearly 1.9 million people have been displaced, many of them more than once.
The reported death toll is equivalent to about 3.4% of Gaza’s estimated prewar population of 2.2 million, or roughly one in every 30 residents. The conflict has also left families facing injury, bereavement, lost livelihoods and damage to schools and health services.
A ceasefire in October 2025 reduced the intensity of fighting but did not end reported deaths or allow many residents to return to their homes.
Deaths, injuries and repeated displacement
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported 74,237 deaths and 175,206 injuries as of October 4. Thousands more people are believed to remain missing beneath destroyed buildings.
Of 71,444 fatalities identified by age and gender through December 31, 2025, 47.7% were men, 29.8% children, 15.4% women and 7.1% older people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). World Health Organization Health Cluster data recorded 8,805 Palestinian deaths in October 2023 alone.
The Hemaya Center for Human Rights said in an October 3 statement that it had documented the deaths of 21,745 children and about 46,000 child injuries since October 2023, including 11,000 cases of lower-limb amputation. It also reported 123 child deaths from malnutrition and dehydration and 293 deaths among premature newborns amid worsening health services, power cuts and shortages of medicine and supplies.
A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, conducted from May 26 to June 1, 2024, found that 61% of respondents in Gaza said a family member had been killed, while 78% said a relative had been killed or injured. The survey covered accessible areas of central and southern Gaza and excluded the north and active combat zones.
UN estimates indicate that nearly 1.9 million Palestinians—about 90% of Gaza’s population—have been displaced during the war. A World Bank, UN and EU assessment published in April found that 371,888 housing units had been damaged or destroyed, about 77% of the housing stock, based on damage recorded through October 2025.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics separately reported that about 201,290 buildings had been damaged by June 16, 2026, around 82% of all buildings in Gaza. Of these, 134,422 were completely destroyed.
About 94% of Gaza’s population needed shelter assistance and basic household items, according to a Shelter Cluster assessment cited by OCHA and based on surveys in June. At the time, up to 65% of households were living in tents or makeshift structures. More than half of households in tents had used the same tent for over a year, and more than half of the assessed shelters were in poor or very poor condition.
OCHA has identified hundreds of displacement sites at risk of flooding, placing hundreds of thousands of people in temporary shelters at further risk.
Livelihoods, food and essential services
A UN Trade and Development report released on September 24 estimated that 92% of Gaza’s economic establishments had been damaged or destroyed since October 2023. It said the conflict had eliminated hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in potential labour income across the occupied Palestinian territory.
Gaza’s unemployment rate reached 78%, while more than 90% of the working-age population was not employed. Annual economic output per person fell to $212 in 2025, 17% of its 2022 level. Prices that year remained 274% above their 2022 level, the report said.
Agricultural and industrial output were each 94% below their 2022 levels, while construction was down 99%. Less than 1.5% of Gaza’s cropland remained both accessible and undamaged, according to the report.
“Food security depends entirely on aid. Most Gazans, including children and pregnant and nursing women, face acute food insecurity and malnutrition,” the report said. It warned that children under five risk irreversible harm, including stunted growth, cognitive impairment and developmental difficulties.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has continued to report deaths and injuries since the October 2025 ceasefire. At least 1,460 Palestinians have been killed and 5,116 injured since it began, while 835 bodies have been recovered.
More than half of Gaza’s hospitals and primary health clinics were non-functional, according to the UN Trade and Development assessment. UNICEF said nearly 98% of school buildings had been damaged since October 2023, with more than 93% requiring major rehabilitation or full reconstruction.
About 541,000 students returned to school in September, according to Palestinian figures, many in makeshift classrooms without basic supplies. UNICEF said 700,000 children aged four to 17 had missed formal face-to-face schooling for three consecutive years, including about 420,000 who had received no in-person learning.
The latest UN Trade and Development report estimated recovery and reconstruction needs at $71.5 billion, warning that the figure could rise as additional damage is recorded.
