The Lancet estimates Gaza death toll at 186,000
Gaza (Quds News Network)- The Lancet, said it estimates the death toll of the Israeli ongoing genocide in Gaza at 186,000 victims.
The peer-reviewed medical journal stated that “Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases.”
The report stated that the total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of the Israeli attacks; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population’s inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA.
The journal noted that in recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths.
“Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37, 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186, 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza”, it added.
The estimated figures would translate to 7·9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip, which was estimated at 2, 375 259 in 2022.
The latest figures by the Ministry of Health stated that Israel has killed 38,153 Palestinians in Gaza, stressing that it could not reach or register many victims, who are either under the rubble or in areas that Israel’s military continues to target.
The Lancet said the ministry’s figures are most likely accurate (or an underestimate) because they are supported by independent analyses and accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN and WHO.
Furthermore, the UN estimates that, by February 29, 2024, 35% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed, so the number of bodies still buried in the rubble is likely substantial, with estimates of more than 10,000.
