International Study: Gaza War One of the Bloodiest Conflicts of the 21st Century

A recent international research study revealed that the number of Palestinian casualties in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of Israeli military operations on October 7, 2023, may approach 100,000, equivalent to 4% of the population of the region, making this war one of the "most bloody in the 21st century".

The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" quoted international researchers in a report on Friday, June 27, stating that the figures announced by the Palestinian Ministry of Health are "less than the actual size of the crisis", pointing out that "hunger, disease, and Israeli gunfire at food distribution centers make the military operations in the region among the bloodiest wars".

Professor Michael Spagat, a global expert on violent conflict deaths from the University of London, in collaboration with Palestinian political scientist Dr. Khalil al-Shakaki, conducted a survey of 2,000 families in Gaza (about 10,000 individuals), and found that by December 2025, approximately 75,200 people had been killed due to violence, most of them because of Israeli munitions.

The study, published as a preliminary version without peer review, indicated that the Ministry of Health in Gaza had recorded only 45,660 deaths by that date, meaning that the official data "underestimated the true number by about 40%". A previous study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found a similar discrepancy.

Spagat affirmed that "this data places the Gaza war among the most bloody conflicts of the 21st century", noting that it "leads in terms of non-combatant casualties compared to the population". The study revealed that 56% of the casualties were children under 18 or women, a ratio that is "exceptional compared to all conflicts since World War II", surpassing the ratio in wars in Kosovo, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan.

In contrast, the Israeli army and its spokespersons reiterated that the number of Hamas fighters and other organizations killed does not exceed 20,000, without providing lists of names or evidence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz also rejected reports of orders to fire on civilians near relief points, describing them as "malicious lies".

On the other hand, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that more than 500 Palestinians were killed and hundreds were injured last month while trying to obtain food aid from the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation", supported by an American company. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli forces fired on crowds heading to distribution sites, a claim Israel denied, stating that they are "investigating the incidents".

The study has sparked widespread controversy for its accuracy in documenting the victims, despite not being peer-reviewed, as it relied on methodologies similar to previous studies in other conflict areas.