Gaza City, Gaza Strip – As the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, the accuracy of casualty numbers in Gaza has become a contentious issue. The latest figures released by the Hamas-run health ministry claim that over 30,000 individuals have been killed, with no distinction made between civilian and combatant casualties. In previous conflicts, the total number of deaths reported by Gazan authorities has generally aligned with estimates from the UN or IDF, though there have been disagreements over the breakdown of civilian versus combatant casualties.
The scale of the current war in Gaza has presented new challenges in data collection for authorities. Unlike previous rounds of fighting where numbers were primarily based on official hospital records, a significant portion of reported deaths in this conflict are now sourced from what the Health Ministry refers to as “reliable media sources” and reports submitted by Gazan citizens through a Google Form. As of now, the authorities report a total of 32,414 deaths, with hospital records contributing to 54 percent of the data and other sources making up 45 percent.
A recent report by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy highlights the shift in data collection methods in Gaza due to the magnitude of the current conflict. Despite concerns over the reliability of the data, a letter published in Lancet argued against claims of inflated mortality reporting by the Gaza Ministry of Health, citing comparisons with a separate database detailing the number of UNRWA workers reported killed. However, discrepancies have emerged between the Gazan authorities’ numbers and data provided by UNRWA, shedding light on potential inaccuracies in reporting and the impact of the conflict on casualty figures.
UNRWA’s dataset covering the period from October 7 to January 4 reveals that 150 of its workers in Gaza have died, with half of those deaths occurring in the weeks following the initial outbreak of violence in October. Intriguingly, despite men representing only 41 percent of UNRWA staff in Gaza, they account for 62 percent of the casualties. These disparities in the data not only raise questions about the conduct of the war but also underscore the complexities surrounding casualty reporting in conflict zones.