Gaza publishes identities of Palestinians killed in war with Israel; 215 of 649 pages are just children

Gaza’s health ministry has published a list identifying 34,344 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks, with details of their names, ages, gender, and ID numbers, spanning 649 pages.

This extensive document accounts for over 80 per cent of those killed in the almost one-year-long ongoing war between Hamas and Israel. The remaining 7,613, bringing the total death toll to over 41,000, are yet to be officially identified, though their bodies have been recovered and taken to hospitals and morgues, The Guardian reported.

The list includes 169 babies born after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, which triggered the war, as well as a man born in 1922, who had lived through more than a century of turmoil. The document starkly highlights the toll on Gaza’s youth, with more than 100 pages dedicated to children under 10. Remarkably, the first adult name does not appear until page 215.

Israeli officials have questioned the accuracy of the figures, citing Hamas’s control of Gaza’s government. However, health workers and civil servants in Gaza have a long-standing record of providing reliable data during previous conflicts. After previous wars, the United Nations found Gaza’s figures closely matched its own records. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq stated that these figures have historically proven to be accurate.

The latest update adds over 2,000 new names and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. However, based on age and gender, a significant number of the dead are believed to be civilians, including 11,355 children, 6,297 women, and 2,955 people aged over 60. Many civilian men of fighting age are also among the victims.

While Israel claims to have killed 17,000 militants, it has provided no evidence, and no estimate has been given for the civilian toll. The official death count also excludes those still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, with an estimated 10,000 people entombed due to a lack of equipment for recovery. Additionally, deaths caused by hunger, lack of shelter, medical shortages, and the spread of diseases have also taken a toll. These will be counted after the fighting ends, according to Dr Marwan al-Hams, the director of Gaza’s field hospitals, as quoted by The Guardian.

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