Gaza: UN says nearly 70% of those killed in war are women and children

Nearly 70 percent of those killed in the Gaza war, confirmed by the United Nations, were women and children, the Human Rights Office said.

UN analyzed murders in the first 11 months of the year Israel-Hamas conflict Palestinian area It was able to confirm the identities of 8,119 victims, including 2,036 women and 3,588 children.

The figure of 8,119 is significantly lower than the 43,000 deaths reported by the Hamas-run health ministry during the 13-month war. UN considers these numbers to be reliable.

Of the deaths confirmed between October 7, 2023 and September 2, 2024, children made up almost half of the victims (44%), while women made up 26%.

The highest number of deaths occurred in children aged five to nine, followed by children aged 10 to 14, and then infants up to four years of age.

The youngest victim whose death was confirmed by the UN was a one-day-old boy, while the oldest victim was a 97-year-old woman.

In 88 percent of cases, five or more people were killed in the same attack; This shows that the weapons were used in a wide area.

However, the report also stated that some of the murders may have occurred as a result of faulty bullets from Palestinian armed groups.

The UN report confirms Palestinian claims that women and children account for the majority of those killed in the war and accuses Israel of “apparent indifference to the deaths of civilians and the impact of the means and methods of war.”

‘Extremely difficult’ to confirm deaths

Sky’s Ben van der Merwe says the United Nations has denied Israel’s investigators access to Gaza, making confirming the deaths “extremely challenging”.

The UN says the figure of 8,119 confirmed murders (as of September 2) is therefore much lower than the figure of 40,738 as of August 30 presented by Gaza’s Hamas-led health ministry.

The health ministry’s figure is based on the number of bodies arriving at hospital morgues, as well as a small number of additional deaths confirmed through the judicial process. You can read our full analysis of the health department’s methodology Here.

In contrast, the UN’s methodology says that deaths can only be counted when there are at least three independent sources to confirm it.

This is challenging in any conflict. These challenges are magnified in a war where there are many deaths to be verified, international investigators have no access to the field, and there are repeated attacks on UN staff.

The UN also says women and children account for 70% of the deaths in the dataset. This figure is significantly higher than the health ministry’s report published around the same time, which put the figure at 60% (and included older men).

This may be because, as the UN has acknowledged, it is easier to confirm attacks on large residential buildings where many potential witnesses live nearby; these attacks are more likely to kill women and children.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement: “The unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct result of failure to comply with the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”

The IDF said in response that it “worked to minimize harm to non-combatants, especially women and children, before the attacks.”

“Each military operation is carried out in accordance with the principles of distinction and proportionality and is preceded by careful assessment of the potential for harm to civilians. The IDF is committed to adhering to international legal obligations and operating in accordance with the laws of armed conflict,” he said.

The Israeli army had previously announced that approximately one civilian was killed for every fighter and stated that Israel was responsible for this. HamasHe says the Palestinian militant group is using civilians as human shields.

“In most cases, the IDF did not provide significant evidence to support its claims (on the use of human shields), and the OHCHR did not conduct any investigation into this matter,” the UN report, which broadly covers the period between November 1, 2023 and April 30, 2024, said. It is possible to verify them separately”.

‘Extremely difficult’ to confirm deaths

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