GAZA CITY (Dispatches) -- A new study by The Lancet has revealed that the death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza is dramatically higher than official figures, with violent deaths exceeding 75,000 in the first 16 months—a third more than the Gaza Health Ministry’s January 2025 count of just over 49,000. 
The report found that by the start of last year, roughly 3–4 percent of Gaza’s population had been killed.
The Lancet’s Gaza Mortality Survey notes that the official numbers on women, children, and elderly victims were largely accurate. However, the collapse of health services and the scale of the attacks left countless deaths unrecorded, with the true toll far surpassing reported figures.
Since the October 2025 ceasefire, over 600 Palestinians have already been killed, even as Israel refuses to fully abide by the truce terms. The official overall death toll now exceeds 72,000. 
Including indirect deaths from damaged hospitals, famine, and disease, The Lancet estimates that Palestinian fatalities could range from 149,000 to nearly 600,000, representing “three million life-years lost”—the total lifespan those killed would have otherwise lived.
A separate Al Jazeera investigation documents the widespread use of U.S.-manufactured thermal and thermobaric weapons, which “vaporized” thousands of civilians during the attacks, underscoring the intensity and devastation of the assault.
The study highlights a grim reality: Gaza’s civilian population has borne the brunt of a war that has systematically destroyed infrastructure, healthcare, and livelihoods, leaving the strip’s residents facing both immediate violence and long-term societal collapse. 
The data contradicts repeated claims by Israel denying the scale of casualties, and underscores the catastrophic human cost of the conflict.
The Lancet’s findings make clear that the human toll of the Gaza war is far higher than widely acknowledged, with the suffering of the population compounded by indirect deaths, displacement, and the collapse of essential services.