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The Gaza Health Ministry released updated figures this week that placed the overall death toll at 74,377 since the start of the war, according to its ongoing tally drawn from hospital records and official registrations. The ministry also reported more than 175,000 Palestinians wounded over the same period. Its data further indicated that at least 1,400 deaths have occurred since a ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
According to the ministry, more than 20,000 children and 12,500 women were among those killed. The figures also listed 1,701 medical personnel and 262 journalists and media workers among the dead. The health authority noted that its count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
United Nations agencies have long viewed the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty data as generally reliable even amid the challenges of collecting information during active conflict, a Reuters report stated. A study published in The Lancet Global Health in early 2026 estimated that the actual number of deaths in the first 15 months exceeded the ministry’s contemporaneous count when indirect fatalities were included. The World Health Organization has separately cited the ministry’s records in its own assessments of the humanitarian impact.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response, which Palestinian officials say caused widespread destruction across the territory. A ceasefire agreement entered into force on October 10, 2025, although both sides have reported subsequent violations.
The ministry has continued to record casualties from intermittent strikes and operations since the ceasefire, its statements show. Recovery teams have also retrieved additional bodies from rubble in previously targeted areas over the past year. Health facilities across Gaza have faced severe shortages and damage throughout the period, according to ministry updates.
United Nations assessments have projected that reconstruction in Gaza could cost approximately 70 billion dollars. The conflict displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s pre-war population of roughly 2.3 million at multiple points, according to UN data. International efforts to address the humanitarian needs and advance a longer-term resolution have involved multiple rounds of negotiations since the ceasefire began.
