Haaretz: 100,000 Palestinians Dead in Gaza, Four Percent of Population

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Friday that nearly 100,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, accounting for around four percent of the territory’s total population.

According to Haaretz, as cited by Anadolu, this figure is significantly higher than the death toll reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, which currently stands at 56,300 since Israel launched its offensive in October 2023.

The newspaper explained that the elevated death toll is not only due to direct military attacks, but also to the indirect consequences of the conflict, including hunger, cold, and disease, as Gaza’s healthcare system has collapsed.

Despite denials from Israeli government spokespeople, journalists, and influencers, Haaretz reported that a growing number of international experts believe the casualty figures are credible—even if they are extraordinarily high—and that the real toll may be even greater.

Among the experts cited is Professor Michael Spagat, an economist at Royal Holloway, University of London, who specializes in conflict-related fatalities. Spagat conducted a survey of 2,000 Palestinian households, representing nearly 10,000 individuals.

"They concluded that, as of January 2025, some 75,200 people died a violent death in Gaza during the war, the vast majority caused by Israeli munitions," said Haaretz.

Based on the survey data, 56 percent of the deceased were women and children aged 18 or younger.

"That's an exceptional figure when compared with almost every other conflict since World War II,” Haaretz said," Haaretz wrote.

Spagat noted that the findings place the war in Gaza among the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century.

"Even if the overall number of war victims in Syria, Ukraine, and Sudan is higher in each case, Gaza is apparently in first place in terms of the ratio of combatants to noncombatants killed, as well as in terms of rate of death relative to population size.n," he said.

His analysis also revealed that the percentage of women and children killed in Gaza is more than double the rates seen in other major conflicts. For example, civilian female and child deaths accounted for 20 percent in Kosovo, 9 percent in Northern Ethiopia, 20 percent in Syria, and 23 percent in Sudan.

"I think we’re probably at something like 4 percent of the population killed,” Spagat said. “I’m not sure that there’s another case in the 21st century that’s reached that high."

Separately, on Wednesday, a study published on the Harvard Dataverse platform estimated that at least 377,000 Palestinian residents have been "eliminated" since the start of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza in 2023. The study, authored by Professor Israel Yaakov Garb and cited by The Cradle, stated that approximately half of those affected are believed to be children.

Using data analysis and spatial mapping, the study claims that the ongoing siege and attacks by the Israeli army have caused a significant decline in Gaza’s population. The report estimates that the 377,000 missing individuals represent about 17 percent of Gaza's population, now roughly 1.85 million.

Israel has continued its military operations in Gaza since October 2023, despite mounting international pressure for a ceasefire.

In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity for actions in Gaza.

In addition, Israel is facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) related to its conduct during the war in the enclave.

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