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Rabat – A harrowing report from The Lancet, the renowned British medical journal, has raised alarm over the potential death toll in Gaza, estimating it could exceed 186,000.
This figure represents nearly 8% of Gaza’s population, making it the equivalent of a death toll of 26 million in the United States.
The Lancet’s warning comes amid severe criticism of the United States and its allies, who are accused of supporting Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The journal highlights the devastating impact of the conflict, fueled by 14,000 one-ton bombs supplied by the U.S, which have obliterated vital infrastructure and exacerbated humanitarian crises, leading to deaths from malnutrition..
Officially, Gaza’s health authorities report more than 38,000 Palestinians killed since the onset of the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) aggression.
However, The Lancet emphasizes that this figure likely underrepresents the true toll, as it excludes those trapped under rubble and the countless deaths resulting from the destruction of essential services.
In its report, “Counting the Dead in Gaza: Difficult but Essential,” The Lancet states: “The reported death toll is likely underestimated. Detailed assessments often reveal that not all victim names are listed by authorities. Additionally, with 35% of Gaza’s buildings destroyed by February 2024, the number of bodies still buried is substantial, estimated at over 10,000.”
Read also: Israel Orders Evacuation of Gaza City Amid Intensified Violence
The report underscores the growing challenges in data collection for Gaza’s Ministry of Health, hampered by the extensive damage to infrastructure.
“The total number of deaths is expected to be high given the intensity of the conflict, the destruction of health infrastructure, severe shortages of food, water, and shelter, the inability of the population to flee to safe places, and the loss of funding for UNRWA, one of the few humanitarian organizations still active in Gaza,” the report warns.
The Lancet estimates 186,000 deaths based on indirect fatalities, which in past wars have been three to fifteen times higher than direct deaths.
Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per direct death to the reported 38,000 fatalities, the total death toll could indeed surpass 186,000.
