Almost 70% of fatalities in the Gaza conflict, as confirmed by the United Nations, comprised women and children, according to its Human Rights Office.
The UN has evaluated the casualties during the initial 11 months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Palestinian region, successfully verifying 8,119 victims, which included 2,036 women and 3,588 children.
The figure of 8,119 is significantly lower than the nearly 43,000 fatalities reported by the Hamas-controlled health ministry over the duration of the 13-month-long conflict, although the UN considers these data as trustworthy.
Pic: Reuters
From the confirmed deaths occurring between 7 October 2023 and 2 September 2024, children constituted nearly half of the fatalities (44%), while women comprised 26%.
The highest fatality count was among children aged between five and nine years old, followed closely by those aged 10-14, and then infants up to four years old.
The youngest victim whose death was confirmed by the UN was a boy just one day old, while the oldest identified was a 97-year-old woman.
In 88% of the incidents, five or more individuals lost their lives in the same attack – indicating that weaponry was employed over a broad area.
Nevertheless, the report indicated that some of the fatalities might have resulted from stray missiles launched by Palestinian armed factions.
The UN’s findings corroborate Palestinian assertions that women and children comprise a significant proportion of those deceased in the conflict, and it accuses Israel of displaying “an evident disregard for the death of civilians and the consequences of the means and methods of warfare”.
Read more:
Israeli strikes in Lebanon result in 40 fatalities
Thousands participate in protests following the sacking of the Israeli defense minister
UN human rights head Volker Turk remarked in a statement: “This unprecedented scale of civilian killing and injury is a direct result of the failure to uphold fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) responded by stating that it “endeavors to minimize harm to non-combatants prior to strikes, particularly women and children”.
“Every military operation is executed in line with the principles of distinction and proportionality, preceded by a meticulous evaluation of the potential for civilian casualties. The IDF commits to complying with international legal standards and operating within the constraints of armed conflict law,” they stated.
The Israeli military has previously stated that approximately one civilian casualty corresponds to each fighter’s death and attributes this to Hamas, asserting that the Palestinian militant organization employs civilians as human shields.
The UN report, which generally addresses the timeframe from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024, noted that “in most cases, the IDF did not provide substantial evidence to support their claims [regarding the use of human shields], and OHCHR has not managed to independently verify them”.
