About 100,000 Palestinians Likely Killed in Israel’s Gaza Genocide
Gaza (PPN) – At least 100,000 Palestinians were likely killed in Israel’s two-year assault on Gaza, according to a new report published Tuesday by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Germany, one of the world’s largest and most respected demographic research institutions.
The study concludes that the true death toll in Gaza is significantly higher than the figures reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which has documented over 69,700 deaths since October 7, 2023.
Data Sources and Methodology
The MPIDR analysis relies on multiple public and institutional sources, including:
- Palestinian Health Ministry
- B’Tselem (Israeli human rights center)
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
- UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation
- Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics
As Europe’s second-largest demographic research institute, MPIDR used advanced mortality modelling to estimate both direct and indirect deaths caused by Israel’s military campaign.
Staggering Loss of Life
According to the study:
- 78,318 Palestinians were killed directly by Israeli attacks between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2024.
- A subsequent analysis estimates that by October 6, 2025, the total number of war-related deaths in Gaza had likely surpassed 100,000.
Collapse of Life Expectancy
The report also highlights an unprecedented demographic impact:
- Life expectancy in Gaza declined by 44% in 2023
- Life expectancy declined by 47% in 2024
These drops correspond to average losses of 34.4 and 36.4 years of expected life, respectively—figures the authors describe as catastrophic and historically rare.
Demographic Patterns Similar to Documented Genocides
The study notes that the age and gender distribution of violent deaths in Gaza between October 2023 and December 2024 closely mirrors patterns observed in multiple genocides documented by the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.
However, the researchers clarify that their work does not seek to legally define whether Israel’s actions constitute genocide.
“Genocide is a legal term requiring specific criteria. This was not the focus of our study,” the authors stated.
Growing International Consensus
While the MPIDR study avoids legal classification, numerous international and Israeli human rights organizations, UN experts, and academic scholars have labeled Israel’s assault on Gaza as genocide.
A recent UN Commission of Inquiry also concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
