Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
How many Palestinian casualties have been reported since 2021?
Executive summary
Since 2021 the published accounts portray a multi-tiered toll: limited but verifiable West Bank figures count in the low thousands, while Gaza figures tied to the October 7, 2023 war run from tens of thousands to nearly 68,000 deaths depending on the reporting source and cut-off date; injury totals for Gaza are reported in the hundreds of thousands by some agencies. Discrepancies reflect differing geographic scopes (West Bank vs Gaza vs whole oPt), varying cut-off dates, inclusion or exclusion of indirect deaths, and severe verification challenges caused by destroyed infrastructure and contested reporting environments [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Why the headline numbers diverge — facts you must hold together
Reporting since 2021 splits into two overlapping storylines: a sustained rise in West Bank fatalities through 2022–2025 and an acute, massive spike in Gaza after October 7, 2023. The United Nations OCHA compiles verified incident‑level data and reports West Bank deaths of 191 [5], 548 [6], 503 [7] and 183 (2025 as of Oct 30), yielding a cumulative ~1,425 deaths for 2022–2025 and tens of thousands of injuries in that period [1]. By contrast, Gaza ministry figures and humanitarian briefings tied to the 7 October hostilities report much larger fatality counts concentrated in Gaza: a Ministry of Health total of 67,075 killed and 169,430 injured in Gaza as of Oct 3, 2025 [2]. The divergence is explained by scope (West Bank vs Gaza), methodology (inclusion of indirect deaths or not), and deadlines for reporting, not necessarily by simple error.
2. Where the largest totals come from — ministry and humanitarian tallies
The highest recent totals come from Gaza’s Ministry of Health and humanitarian compilations that rely on those figures. The ministry’s cumulative Gaza death toll — 67,075 killed as of October 3, 2025 — is used by some UN reports and by separate compilations putting combined Gaza and West Bank fatalities since October 7, 2023 at nearly 68,123 killed and about 179,750 injured [2]. A December 2024 UN Security Council briefing cited Gaza ministry counts of over 45,000 killed as of that meeting, showing the number’s rapid escalation across months [3]. Humanitarian actors caution these are likely undercounts for practical reasons — collapsed registry systems, destroyed hospitals, and inaccessible locations — even while they remain the principal operational figures shaping aid response [4] [8].
3. What independent verification and UN databases say — cautious but systematic
The UN OCHA “Protection of Civilians” database provides incident-level entries going back to 2008 and applies verification thresholds requiring two independent sources for most incidents; OCHA’s West Bank data is relatively complete for 2022–2025 but the office warns that Gaza figures tied to intense hostilities are harder to independently verify in real time [9]. OCHA’s consolidated numbers for the West Bank allow a clear aggregation for that territory [1], but for Gaza OCHA and related UN briefings rely heavily on local health authorities and the Health Cluster unified dashboard for operational planning, which in turn drives the larger Gaza figures cited by UN meetings and humanitarian snapshots [8] [3]. The UN emphasizes the need for continued verification and notes that totals may be revised as access improves.
4. What’s included — deaths vs casualties, combatants vs civilians, and indirect tolls
“Casualties” is an imprecise term across the sources: some tallies report deaths only, some combine deaths and injuries, and some attempt to capture direct and indirect deaths (such as those from lack of medical care, malnutrition, or infrastructure collapse). Gaza Ministry figures generally report total fatalities and injuries without disaggregating combatant status; humanitarian analyses and the UN stress that a substantial proportion are civilians, including women and children, though precise civilian/combatant breakdowns vary by source [4] [2]. Independent verification of combatant status is especially difficult amid active operations and damaged records, meaning that casualty composition remains contested even when headline numbers are large.
5. Best current reading and what to watch next
Using the provided sources, the most supportable way to state the toll since 2021 is to separate the components: verifiable West Bank deaths since 2022 total roughly 1,425 [1], while Gaza deaths tied to the October 7, 2023 hostilities are reported by Gaza authorities and used in UN briefings at between 45,000 and about 67,000 deaths depending on date and accounting [3] [2]. Injury counts for Gaza are reported between 169,000 and 179,750 in the compilations cited [2]. Expect revisions as verification improves; watch OCHA updates, the Health Cluster dashboard, and subsequent UN briefings for adjusted totals and for any expanded reporting that reconciles direct and indirect death estimates [9] [8].