How many women and children were killed in Palestine since October 7?
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Executive summary
Available sources give multiple, differing tallies for Palestinians killed since 7 October 2023 and breakouts for children and women vary by publisher and methodology: the Gaza Ministry of Health reported 67,173 deaths including 20,179 children as of 7 October 2025 [1], other Gaza-run tallies report roughly 16,500–17,000 children killed [2] [3], and U.N. and humanitarian agencies report broader mixes (for example, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs cites 67,173 total and notes malnutrition and related child deaths) [4]. For the West Bank, the UN Human Rights Office reported 1,001 Palestinians killed there since 7 October 2023 — including 213 children (206 boys, 7 girls) and 20 women — as of its October 2025 statement [5].
1. Multiple official tallies; no single authoritative global number
Different institutions use distinct methods and update cycles. The Gaza Health Ministry’s detailed breakdown cited 67,173 dead in Gaza with 20,179 children as of 7 October 2025 [1]. The UN OCHA cites the same overall Gaza total in its situation update and highlights additional categories such as malnutrition deaths and injuries [4]. Independent or non‑governmental tallies — and secondary aggregators like Wikipedia or news outlets — use these primary sources or modeling studies and therefore report different child/women shares [6] [7].
2. Gaza child deaths: wide range of reported figures
Gaza-run health authorities have repeatedly released high child-death numbers: Haaretz reported the Gaza Health Ministry stating 16,506–16,500 children killed (May 2025) [2] and Anadolu reported “over 17,000 children” killed per the Palestinian Education Ministry [3]. Reuters’ October 2025 explainer used the Gaza Ministry breakdown of 20,179 children within its overall 67,173 total [1]. Discrepancies stem from reporting dates, inclusion of infants or malnutrition-related deaths, and different inclusions/exclusions of presumed deaths under rubble [4] [8].
3. Women killed: figures reported but less consistently broken out
Some sources give percentages or headline counts that women plus children form a majority of casualties. PBS quoted the Palestinian Health Ministry saying “more than half” of Gaza’s 43,000 dead (as of Oct 2024) were women and children [7]. Reuters notes UN verification up to July 2025 found 40% of verified conflict deaths were children and 22% women, indicating women are a substantial share though exact totals vary by dataset [1]. For the West Bank, the UN Human Rights Office’s October 2025 release explicitly counted 20 women among 1,001 killed since 7 October 2023 [5].
4. Geography matters: Gaza vs West Bank vs October 7 attacks in Israel
Most high child- and women-death tallies refer to Gaza; the West Bank has separate UN-monitored counts [5]. The initial 7 October 2023 attacks inside Israel resulted in many Israeli civilian casualties including women and children, a context that agencies include when describing the conflict’s timeline [9] [10]. Reports and accusations about sexual and gender‑based violence and targeting of civilians have been made by UN investigators and rights bodies relating to the wider conflict [11].
5. Methodology and verification explain major differences
Sources note undercount risks and methodological limits: The Lancet and UN flagged likely undercounts early in the war; Gaza’s health system collapse made verification difficult and some peer‑reviewed modeling estimated official counts understate deaths by substantial margins [1]. OCHA and UN rights offices use verification methods that can produce different verified totals compared with ministry figures or advocacy counts [4] [1]. Where counts include malnutrition or aid‑access deaths versus direct strike victims also changes child totals [4].
6. Competing narratives and potential biases to weigh
Gaza-run ministries and Palestinian institutions provide the most comprehensive high-end tallies and emphasize humanitarian catastrophe [2] [3]. International agencies and some peer‑reviewed studies caution about verification challenges but still confirm very large proportions of women and children among casualties [1] [6]. Media outlets and advocacy groups may foreground different subsets (direct strike deaths, malnutrition, missing presumed dead) which affects headline numbers [8] [12].
7. Bottom line and what’s not in these sources
Available sources do not present a single unified, universally accepted count for “how many women and children were killed” since 7 October; instead they provide ranges and partial breakdowns by date and geography. The most-cited specific figures in the reporting above are: Gaza Ministry of Health — 67,173 total with 20,179 children as of 7 October 2025 [1]; Gaza Health/Palestinian ministries and NGOs have reported roughly 16,500–17,000 children in earlier 2025 updates [2] [3]; and the UN OHCHR reported 1,001 killed in the West Bank including 206 boys and 7 girls and 20 women [5]. Use these named sources when citing specific numbers and note the date and method differences that produce the variation [1] [2] [5].