Necva Tastan Sevinc
09 July 2025•Update: 09 July 2025
ISTANBUL
A new mortality survey conducted by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Wednesday reveals a tenfold increase in death rates for children under the age of five in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the current war on Oct. 7, 2023.
The retrospective survey, carried out by MSF’s epidemiological unit, Epicentre, included 2,523 people, MSF staff and their family members, between October 2023 and March 2025.
The findings show that the overall mortality rate in the group was five times higher than pre-war levels, while for children under 5, it was 10 times higher. For newborns under one month old, the mortality rate increased sixfold, raising the alarm about the scale of civilian suffering.
“Forty-eight percent of the people who died from blast injuries among our colleagues' households were children, and 40 percent were under 10 years old,” said Amande Bazerolle, deputy manager of MSF’s emergency department. “The children of Gaza are being decimated.”
More than 2% of those surveyed have died since Oct. 7, and 7% were injured.
MSF noted that three-quarters of the deaths were caused by war-related injuries, the vast majority from blasts.
The mortality rate in the survey population reached 0.41 deaths per 10,000 people per day and rose to 0.70 for children under 5.
Despite better access to care compared to the general population, 20% of MSF households reported at least one member injured by a blast or gunfire.
MSF also highlighted the collapse of Gaza’s health care system. Two-thirds of those with chronic illnesses experienced treatment interruptions.
“This is the result of the Israeli campaign to systematically destroy the health system and the means of survival of the whole population,” said MSF.
The medical charity urged Israel to end what it described as a “genocidal campaign,” lift the blockade on food, fuel and medical supplies, and facilitate urgent medical evacuations -- especially for children.
