With each passing day, there are fewer Gazans in the world. Proof of this is the latest study by the official Palestinian statistics agency. Since the brutal Israeli assault on Gaza Strip began on October 7 of last year, the population of the besieged enclave has been reduced by and 6%. Around 100,000 Palestinians have abandoned the enclave while it is presumed that more than 55,000 have lost their livesaccording to a statement from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) published on Tuesday. Following the same tragic trend, this Thursday at least 12 people died in an Israeli bombing against the alleged “humanitarian zone” from al Mawasi, in the south of the enclave.
During the second day of the year, at least 52 personas have lost their lives as a result of Israeli actions. The brutality of the air raids is the main culprit for the deaths, but the horrible living conditions, aggravated by the extreme winter temperatures, add more deaths. A seventh baby has died of cold in Gaza, bringing the total number of hypothermia victims to eight, as displaced people recover from days of heavy rain that has flooded makeshift shelters. On Wednesday, as 2025 begins, Israelis killed at least 26 Palestinians.
For now, the official death toll is around 45,500. Specifically, they are 45.581although increase every second. More than half of the fatalities counted by the Gaza Ministry of Health are women and children. Also the ministry figures collected by the office include the 11,000 people missing. Many of them are still under the rubble, due to the lack of resources or the danger preventing them from recovering their bodies. Others have been detained by Israeli forces, leaving them unaccounted for without knowing whether they are still alive or not.
160,000 fewer Gazans
As a result, Gaza’s population has declined, losing around 160,000 of its citizens. Before the war, the Palestinian enclave had 2.1 million inhabitantsand more than one million, or 47% of the remaining total population, were children under the age of 18, according to the PCBS. Israel has “unleashed brutal aggression against Gaza, attacking all forms of life there: human beings, buildings and vital infrastructure… entire families were erased from the civil registry; “There are catastrophic human and material losses,” the office denounces in the statement. For its part, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the data has been “manufacturedinflated and manipulated to vilify Israel.”
Meanwhile, the lethal trend advances with impunity on the ground. This Thursday alone, multiple Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 52 Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip, including the police chief of the enclave. The deadliest bombing has claimed a dozen lives in a tent camp in the “zona humanitariana” de al Mawasia coastal area near the southern city of Khan Younis, designated as a safe area by Israeli authorities. There are several children among the dead. The tents have burned in a bombardment that has also injured 15 people.
Brutal scourge of winter
During the last week, the brutal scourge of the second winter under the bombs has finished condemning a decimated population. The cold has killed hypothermia to various babies, while the floods continue to penetrate the bones of children and adults. Approximately 22% of Gaza’s population is currently facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity acute, according to the criteria of the Integrated Food Safety Phase Classification. Among them, there are some 3,500 children who are at risk of dying due to malnutrition and lack of food, according to the PCBS.
There are also some 60,000 pregnant women who face serious health risks, due to the deterioration of the health sector and the general lack of access to medical care. Almost the entire Gazan population has been forcibly displaced due to the constant Israeli attacks, which have not left a corner of the enclave unbombed. Israel has rejected continued accusations of being perpetrating genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. But at the same time it continues sealing border crossings in the enclave, preventing the entry of desperately needed aid, including food and medicine.
The situation is extremely critical in the norte of the Strip. There, the Israeli Army launched a brutal ground offensive in October, accompanied by a medieval siege. Tens of thousands of people are trapped, succumbing to famine and relentless Israeli bombing. The Hebrew Army has been in charge of destroy all types of medical facilities that could save them. Furthermore, the constant attacks against local journalists make it increasingly difficult to know exactly what is happening in these areas, since the Israeli Army not only prevents foreign press from entering the enclave, but also deliberately kills to the Gazan professionals who are still alive.
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