A recent article published in The Lancet highlights the devastating human toll of the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, reporting that as of June 29, 2024, at least 37,396 people have been killed since the escalation of violence following the Hamas attack and subsequent Israeli invasion in October 2023. The figures, provided by the Gaza Health Ministry and corroborated by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, have faced scrutiny from Israeli authorities but are accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence, the UN, and the World Health Organization.

The article emphasizes the challenges in accurately counting casualties due to the destruction of infrastructure, which has hindered the health ministry's ability to report deaths reliably. As a result, the ministry has had to adjust its reporting methods, leading to a significant portion of the death toll—30% of the 35,091 reported deaths—being classified as unidentifiable. This change has raised concerns among some officials and media outlets regarding the reliability of the data, although independent assessments suggest that the actual death toll may be even higher than reported.

The UN estimates that approximately 35% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed, leaving many bodies potentially buried under rubble. The article warns that the indirect health impacts of the conflict could lead to a staggering number of additional deaths, with estimates suggesting that for every direct death, there could be between three to fifteen indirect deaths due to factors such as disease and lack of access to healthcare. This could result in a total death toll of up to 186,000, representing about 7.9% of Gaza's population.

The urgent need for a ceasefire is underscored, along with calls for immediate humanitarian assistance to provide medical supplies, food, and clean water to the affected population. The article stresses the importance of documenting the full scale of the conflict's impact for historical accountability and to acknowledge the profound human cost of the ongoing violence.