Israel killed 1.8% of Gaza's population, official figures show

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Israel has killed around 1.8% of Gaza’s population since last Oct. 7 amid a devastating war on the enclave, according to figures released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Sunday.

In a statement, the bureau said more than 39,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

“This constitutes around 1.8% of the total population in the territory,” it added.

According to the bureau, around 24% of the Palestinian victims in Gaza were young people.

The Israeli army on Saturday killed over 100 civilians and injured dozens when a warplane targeted Palestinians performing Fajr (dawn) prayers at the Al-Taba'een School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City, according to health authorities.

The figures showed that famine has killed 34 people in Gaza, with around 3,500 children at risk of death due to malnutrition and food shortages.

According to the bureau, around 70% of the injured people in Gaza are women and children, while some 10,000 people are still missing and around two million have been displaced.

It said 620 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, with around 75% of the fatalities among people under the age of 30.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi