An article titled “Counting the deaths in Gaza: Difficult but necessary” was published in the British journal The Lancet by Rasha Khatib, Martin McKee and Salim Yusuf. The article stated that the number of martyrs in Gaza as of June 19 was 37,396 and emphasized that it was difficult for the Gaza Health Ministry to collect data due to the destruction in the region.
The article, which pointed out that the ministry announced the number of dead and the number of identified martyrs separately, underlined that approximately 30 percent of those killed in Gaza could not be identified. The article also stated that Airwars, a non-governmental organization that monitors and archives airstrikes in the Middle East, revealed that the names of some identifiable victims of airstrikes were not included in the ministry lists.
The statement also referred to the data indicating that 35 percent of the buildings in Gaza had been destroyed, and emphasized that the number of bodies still under the rubble was more than 10,000. The article drew attention to the fact that wars not only caused violence but also health problems, and stated that even if the wars ended, their effects were seen in the years that followed.
The article, which draws attention to the fact that the indirect death rate caused by attacks in Gaza is 3 to 15 times higher, reported that the indirect martyrs are 3 to 15 times more than the direct martyrs.
“Using a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths against the 37,369 reported deaths, it would not be unreasonable to attribute more than 186,000 deaths to the attacks in Gaza. Taking into account Gaza’s 2022 population estimate of 2,375,259, the estimated death toll corresponds to 7.9 percent of the entire population,” it said.
According to the assessment made in February, if the ceasefire is not provided and the attacks continue with the same intensity, the number of martyrs will be 58,260 on August 6, and 85,750 when epidemics and rising tensions are taken into account, according to the article . Therefore, the article emphasized that an urgent ceasefire is needed in Gaza, and the vital importance of the distribution of necessary medical aid, food, water and basic needs was pointed out.
The article stated that calculating the number of martyrs and the destruction in Gaza is important for future accountability, determining the extent of the destruction brought by the war, post-war recovery, infrastructure renewal and humanitarian aid.
