Over 240,000 Palestinians dead, injured or missing in two years of conflict: ministry

The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that over the course of two years, since Oct 2023, Israel has committed acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the martydom and injury of approximately 240,000 Palestinians, most of them children and women, in addition to a number of people missing under the rubble.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been martyred and nearly 170,000 injured, the vast majority of them women and children. Thousands more remain buried under rubble, unreachable even by emergency responders.

Gaza’s healthcare system has been pushed to the brink of total collapse. Of the 36 hospitals that served the population before the war, 34 have been completely or partially destroyed. More than 400 documented attacks have targeted hospitals, clinics, medical staff, and ambulances.

Israel has used hunger as a weapon. By August 2024, the UN-led Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed the outbreak of famine in Gaza. Over 500,000 Palestinians are living in Phase 5 conditions, the most catastrophic level of food insecurity, marked by extreme hunger, acute malnutrition, and death. An additional 1.07mn people face emergency levels (Phase 4), while nearly 400,000 are in crisis (Phase 3). Since October 2023, at least 459 people, including 154 children, have died as a direct result of starvation and malnutrition.

Despite hundreds of aid trucks waiting at Gaza’s borders, Israel has blocked or severely restricted their entry. Since March 2, 2025, the siege has tightened further, completely sealing crossings and obstructing humanitarian deliveries. UN agencies describe the allowed quantities of aid as insufficient to meet even the most basic human needs, calling them “a drop in the ocean.”

Over 1.9mn Palestinians, more than 80% of Gaza’s population, have been forcibly displaced. Many have fled multiple times. UNRWA reports that nearly every family has been uprooted at least once since the start of the war.

Following a large-scale military offensive in March 2025, over 1.2mn people fled Gaza City in just days.

In July, Israel’s government approved a plan to gradually reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip, starting with the north.

According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 88% of Gaza’s land, around 317 square kilometres, is now under evacuation orders. Entire towns have been emptied. From September 20 to 27, 2025, thousands of people were forced to walk for hours to reach safety, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.

Many families sold their remaining possessions to pay for transport. Others simply walked, with no food or water. Over 70 shelters in northern Gaza have closed due to overcrowding, damage, or lack of aid. Tens of thousands of displaced people now sleep outdoors, exposed to the elements.

Beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, Gaza is facing a slow-moving environmental catastrophe. In a September 2025 report, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) warned that the damage to Gaza’s environment could take decades to repair. Clean water is nearly nonexistent. Sewage networks have collapsed.

Aquifers are polluted. Coastal waters are contaminated. According to UNEP, 97% of Gaza’s tree crops, 95% of greenhouses, and 82% of seasonal crops have been destroyed, rendering local food production nearly impossible.

Gaza’s urban infrastructure has also been decimated. Out of an estimated 250,000 buildings, 78% have sustained damage or total destruction. This has created 61mn tonnes of rubble – 15 % of which may be contaminated with asbestos, chemicals, or heavy metals. The combination of air, water, and soil contamination poses severe long-term risks to public health, especially for children.

Education in Gaza has not been spared. According to the Ministry of Education, over 179 public schools have been completely destroyed and more than 100 UNRWA schools have been damaged or rendered unusable.

Twenty higher education institutions have suffered severe damage, and over 60 university buildings have been levelled.

Since the beginning of the war, more than 18,000 school students and over 1,300 university students have been killed. Over 1,000 educators have lost their lives, and 4,667 have been injured.

As a result, more than 630,000 students have been deprived of their right to education. Dozens of schools have been entirely erased from official registries. Despite these overwhelming obstacles, the Ministry of Education organised online high school graduation exams for 27,000 students born in 2006. It is also preparing to conduct exams for students born in 2007.

Online and community-based learning initiatives have been introduced, offering some continuity for Gaza’s youth.