Editing Israeli–Palestinian conflict (section)

== Fatalities ==
{{See also|Israeli casualties of war|Palestinian casualties of war|Gaza genocide}}
[[File:Timeline of Israel-Palestine fatalities 2008-2023.png|thumb|upright=1.7|[[Israeli casualties of war|Israeli]] and [[Palestinian casualties of war|Palestinian deaths]] from 2008 to 2023 (preceding the [[Gaza war]]), as reported by the United Nations [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]]<ref name=OCHAoPt>{{cite web |url=https://www.ochaopt.org/data/casualties |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231012194834/https://ochaopt.org/data/casualties |archive-date=12 October 2023 |title=Data on casualties |website=United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory ([[OCHAoPt]]). |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=12 October 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=alfonseca>{{cite news |last1=Alfonseca |first1=Kiara |title=Palestinian civilians suffer in Israel-Gaza crossfire as death toll rises |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/palestinian-civilians-suffer-israel-hamas-crossfire-death-toll/story?id=103828889 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012150320/https://abcnews.go.com/International/palestinian-civilians-suffer-israel-hamas-crossfire-death-toll/story?id=103828889 |archive-date=12 October 2023 |access-date=12 October 2023 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=11 October 2023 |quote=roughly 6,400 Palestinians and 300 Israelis}}</ref>]]

Studies provide aggregated casualty data for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. According to the [[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]], 13,000 Israelis and Palestinians were killed in the conflict between 1948 and 1997.<ref name="Twentieth">{{Cite web |title=Twentieth Century Atlas – Death Tolls |url=http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm |access-date=5 March 2022 |website=users.erols.com |archive-date=19 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719111347/http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat4.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Other estimates give 14,500 killed between 1948 and 2009.<ref name="Twentieth" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=All wars in the 20th century, since 1900 &#124; the Polynational War Memorial |url=http://www.war-memorial.net/wars_all.asp |access-date=5 March 2022 |website=www.war-memorial.net |archive-date=20 December 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121220102904/http://www.war-memorial.net/wars_all.asp |url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[1982 Lebanon War]], Israel killed an estimated 20,000 Palestinians and Lebanese, not including the 800–3,500 Palestinians killed in the [[Sabra-Shatila Massacre]].<ref name=Race>{{cite journal|title=The 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon: the casualties|journal=Race & Class|year=1983|volume=24|issue=4|pages=340–343|doi=10.1177/030639688302400404|s2cid=220910633}}</ref>

According to [[B'tselem]], during the [[first intifada]] from 1987 until 2000, 1,551 Palestinians and 421 Israelis lost their lives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fatalities in the first Intifada |url=https://www.btselem.org/statistics/first_intifada_tables |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429195557/https://www.btselem.org/statistics/first_intifada_tables |archive-date=29 April 2020 |access-date=5 March 2022 |website=[[B'Tselem]] |language=en}}</ref> According to the database of the UNOffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory ([[OCHAoPt]]), [[Palestinian casualties of war|6,407 Palestinians]] and [[Israeli casualties of war|308 Israelis]] were killed in the conflict from 2008 to September 2023, before the [[Gaza war]].<ref name="OCHAoPt" /><ref name="alfonseca" />

Figures include both Israeli civilians and security forces casualties in [[West Bank]], [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]] and [[Israel]]. All numbers refer to casualties of direct conflict between Israelis and Palestinians including in IDF military operations, artillery shelling, search and arrest campaigns, barrier demonstrations, targeted killings, settler violence etc. The figures do not include events indirectly related to the conflict such as casualties from unexploded ordnance, etc., or events when the circumstances remain unclear or are in dispute. The figures include all reported casualties of all ages and both genders.<ref name=OCHAoPt-2007>[http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Humanitarian_Monitor_Dec_07.pdf "The Humanitarian Monitor."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216024233/http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/Humanitarian_Monitor_Dec_07.pdf |date=16 February 2008|URL-status=dead}} United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. December 2007. PDF. Tables on pages 5 and 7, all numbers refer to casualties of the direct conflict as defined therein (p. 23).</ref>

As reported by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, from 29 September 2000 to the year 2010, a total of 7,454 Palestinian and Israeli individuals were killed due to the conflict. According to the report, 1,317 of the 6,371 Palestinians were minors, and at least 2,996 did not participate in fighting at the time of death. Palestinians killed 1,083 Israelis, including 741 civilians, of whom 124 were minors.<ref>{{Cite news |title=B'Tselem: Since 2000, 7,454 Israelis, Palestinians killed |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel/btselem-since-2000-7454-israelis-palestinians-killed |access-date=5 March 2022 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305205558/https://www.jpost.com/israel/btselem-since-2000-7454-israelis-palestinians-killed |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led militant groups [[7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel|launched a surprise attack on Israel]], in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 815 civilians, were killed, and [[Gaza war hostage crisis|251 taken hostage]].<ref name="hrw20240717">{{cite web|date=2024-07-17 |title=October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups |work=[[Human Rights Watch]] |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/october-7-crimes-against-humanity-war-crimes-hamas-led-groups |access-date=2024-09-24 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240924071649/https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/october-7-crimes-against-humanity-war-crimes-hamas-led-groups |archive-date=2024-09-24 |url-status=live}}</ref> Since the start of [[Gaza war]], over 52,000 Palestinians in Gaza [[Casualties of the Gaza war|have been reported as killed]],{{#tag:ref|50,021 Palestinians of which have been fully identified as of 24 March 2025.|group=lower-alpha}} over half of them [[Women in the Gaza war#Gaza Strip|women]] and [[Effect of the Gaza war on children in the Gaza Strip|children]], and more than 110,000 Palestinians have been injured.<ref name="reuters-deaths">{{Cite news|date=24 March 2025 |title=Gaza death toll: how many Palestinians has Israel's offensive killed?|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/how-many-palestinians-has-israels-gaza-offensive-killed-2025-01-15/|access-date=25 March 2025|work=[[Reuters]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name="ap-deaths">{{Cite news|date=27 April 2025 |title=51 deaths reported in Gaza from Israeli strikes, bringing the war’s Palestinian toll to over 52,000|url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-04-27-2025-484d00da53700e6d08e0e9f360be976f|access-date=3 May 2025 |work=[[AP News]]}}</ref><ref name="aje-deaths">{{Cite web|url=https://aje.io/klape0?update=3718087|title=Gaza total death toll rises|date=18 May 2025|website=[[Al Jazeera]]}}</ref> A study in ''[[the Lancet]]'' estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injuries by June 2024, while noting a larger potential death toll when "indirect" deaths are included.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02678-3 |title=Traumatic injury mortality in the Gaza Strip from Oct 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024: A capture–recapture analysis |date=2025 |last1=Jamaluddine |first1=Zeina |last2=Abukmail |first2=Hanan |last3=Aly |first3=Sarah |last4=Campbell |first4=Oona M R. |last5=Checchi |first5=Francesco |journal=The Lancet |volume=405 |issue=10477 |pages=469–477 |pmid=39799952 }}</ref><ref name=Bloxham_Mar_2025/> [[Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip (2023–present)|Israel's tightened blockade of Gaza]] cut off basic necessities, causing a severe hunger crisis with [[Gaza Strip famine|a high risk of famine]] persisting {{As of|2025|5|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 December 2023 |title=Israel: Starvation Used as Weapon of War in Gaza |work=[[Human Rights Watch]] |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza |access-date=22 September 2024 |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219204134/https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/18/israel-starvation-used-weapon-war-gaza |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/untangling-the-reality-of-famine-in-gaza/ |work=[[Refugees International]] |access-date=24 November 2024 |date=12 September 2024 |title=Untangling the reality of famine in Gaza}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=28 April 2025 |title=Gazans face hunger crisis as aid blockade nears two months |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1162666 |access-date=4 May 2025 |website=UN News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Criticism of casualty statistics ===
The Israeli-based [[International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism]] (ICT) claimed that Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups overestimated the percentage of civilians killed since the IDF suspected many of those killed to be possible militants.<ref>Mor, Avi, et al. [http://www.ict.org.il/Portals/0/Articles/ICT_Cast_Lead_Casualties-A_Closer_Look.pdf "Casualties in Operation Cast Lead: A closer look."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101130822/http://www.ict.org.il/Portals/0/Articles/ICT_Cast_Lead_Casualties-A_Closer_Look.pdf |date=1 January 2011 }} Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. 2009. PDF.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=9 September 2009 |title=B'Tselem: 773 of Palestinians killed in Cast Lead were civilians |language=en |work=[[Ynet News]] |url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3774217,00.html|access-date=5 March 2022 |archive-date=5 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305205558/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3774217,00.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[Operation Cast Lead]], Israeli figures reported the number of Palestinians killed at 1,166 Palestinian, 60 percent were classified as "terrorists" by Israeli officials. This discrepancy is partially due to Israel's classification of Gazan police, who did not take part in hostilities, as combatants. The broad consensus among human rights organizations is that these police were primarily civilians, as they did not actively participate in hostilities nor were they part of armed groups. The accuracy of Israeli casualty figures was further questioned based on the number of children killed. Israel reported 89 Palestinian minors killed, whereas the human rights organization B'Tselem reported 252, substantiating their figures with birth and death certificates and other documents in almost all cases. The Israeli figures also stand out against the figures published by the US Department of State, which reported the number killed "at close to 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 1,000 civilians."<ref>{{cite book|author=Norman Finkelstein|title=Gaza: An Inquest into Its Martyrdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gaza&pg=PA|year=2018|publisher=Univ of California Pres8 |isbn=978-0-520-96838-7|quote=Israeli officials alleged that total Palestinian deaths came to 1,166, of whom at least 60 percent were "terrorists." The discrepancy in the ratio of Palestinian combatant to civilian deaths partly resulted from disagreement on the proper classification of Gazan police. See Shay Fogelman, "Shock and Awe," Haaretz (31 December 2010). The broad consensus among human rights organizations was that these police should overwhelmingly be classified as civilians because they did not take a direct part in hostilities and were not members of Palestinian armed groups. The veracity of Israeli figures could be tested by scrutinizing the "under 16" subclassification. Whereas Israel alleged that 89 Palestinians under age 16 were killed, B'Tselem reported that 252 Palestinians under 16 were killed and that it had "copies of birth certificates and death certificates along with other documents regarding the vast majority of the minors who were killed." For critical analysis of Israeli casualty figures, see Public Committee against Torture in Israel (PCATI), No Second Thoughts: The changes in the Israeli Defense Forces' combat doctrine in light of "Operation Cast Lead" (2009), pp. 9–11. This study showed that Israel abruptly altered the figures it tabulated for Palestinian deaths, and concluded that "the casualty estimates provided by other sources (around 1,400 killed) are more credible than those provided by the IDF Spokesperson." Even the largely apologetic US Department of State 2009 Human Rights Report put the number of dead "at close to 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 1,000 civilians." }}</ref>

=== Landmines and unexploded ordnance ===
A comprehensive collection mechanism to gather [[land mine]] and [[explosive remnants of war]] (ERW) casualty data does not exist for the Palestinian territories.<ref name="unmas">{{cite web|url=http://www.mineaction.org/country.asp?c=138 |title=Country Overviews – Occupied Palestinian Territory |year=2009 |publisher=[[United Nations Mine Action Service]] |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926225134/http://mineaction.org/country.asp?c=138 |archive-date=26 September 2010}}</ref> In 2009, the [[United Nations Mine Action Service|United Nations Mine Action Centre]] reported that more than 2,500 mine and explosive remnants of war casualties occurred between 1967 and 1998, at least 794 casualties (127 killed, 654 injured and 13 unknown) occurred between 1999 and 2008 and that 12 people had been killed and 27 injured since the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|Gaza War]].<ref name="unmas" /> The UN Mine Action Centre identified the main risks as coming from "ERW left behind by Israeli aerial and artillery weapon systems, or from militant caches targeted by the Israeli forces."<ref name="unmas" /> There are at least 15 confirmed minefields in the West Bank on the border with Jordan. The [[Palestinian National Security Forces]] do not have maps or records of the minefields.<ref name="unmas" />