Gaza population declines by 6% amid Israel’s genocidal war

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Gaza’s population has declined by 6% as a result of Israel’s genocidal war, official figures showed on Tuesday.

Ola Awad, head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), said the territory’s population drpped to 2.1 million, down by 160,000 people since 2023.

Awad said nearly 45,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and 100,000 others fled the enclave since Oct. 7, 2023.

She said the victims included 17,581 children and 12,048 women, while nearly 107,000 have been injured and around 11,000 others missing.

The PCBS estimated the Palestinian population at around 15 million, including 5.5 living in Gaza and the West Bank, 1.8 million inside Israel and the rest in diaspora worldwide.

The Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara