Israel-Hamas conflict: graphs showing record deaths and devastation in the first month of the war

Israel claims that more than 1,400 Israelis and foreign citizens were killed as a result of the October 7 attack launched by Hamas — considered a terrorist group in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States.

Israeli authorities identified 1,159 of those killed that day, including 828 civilians and 31 children.

Meanwhile, on the Palestinian side, as the war entered its fifth week, the death toll in Gaza and the West Bank reached an unprecedented milestone.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, run by Hamas, reported on November 6 that more than 10,000 people had been killed, including more than 4,100 children. In other words, on average, one child was killed every 10 minutes.

Some politicians, including US President Joe Biden, have questioned the accuracy of the figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, but the World Health Organization (WHO) says it believes the figures are reliable.

The war left around 5,400 injured in Israel and more than 25,400 injured in Gaza and the West Bank, according to Israeli authorities and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, respectively.

Around 2,260 are missing in Gaza, including 1,270 children. Most of the missing are believed to be buried under the rubble.

Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7 created one of the largest hostage crises ever seen. According to Israeli authorities, around 242 national and foreign citizens are detained by Hamas, including more than 30 children.

Hamas says 57 of the hostages were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza.

Four civilian hostages, including a 17-year-old girl, have been released by Hamas since October 20.

The Israeli army said it had rescued, in a ground operation carried out on October 29, a soldier held captive since October 7.

The Gaza Strip has a population of more than 2.2 million people, of which more than half are children.

On October 13, Israel ordered civilians to evacuate northern Gaza towards the south.

After a month of Israeli air strikes, more than 200,000 housing units in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed — that is, about half of the units in the territory, according to Gaza authorities.

As of November 5, the UN and Palestinian bodies estimated that around 1.5 million people in Gaza had been internally displaced within the territory and were sheltering in schools, churches, hospitals, UN shelters, public buildings or in other people’s homes. families.

Leaving Gaza is not an option for the territory’s inhabitants, as the Erez crossing to Israel is closed and the Rafah crossing to Egypt is only open to evacuate foreign citizens and some of the injured.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, run by Hamas, says that 16 of 35 hospitals (46%) and 51 of 76 medical centers in the Gaza Strip have been out of service due to attacks or a lack of fuel since November 5.

Around 50 ambulances were damaged, 31 of them are out of service and at least 175 health professionals were killed, according to the ministry.

Under international law, humanitarian workers, healthcare staff and their facilities must be protected.

The UN says at least 88 employees working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were killed, along with 18 civil defense workers.

As of November 5, 46 journalists were also killed — whose safety and work must be protected in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Convention. The count is from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

The conflict between Israel and Hamas culminated in the deadliest month for journalists covering wars in the last three decades, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

For those who have managed to survive the war so far, life is extremely difficult in Gaza, with food shortages, little water available and imminent health risks.

The WHO said in mid-October that families and children in Gaza were relying on just three liters of water per person per day for drinking, cooking and hygiene. The minimum described as an emergency limit is 15 liters per person per day.

Lately, very little water supply has entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Water supply infrastructure was also damaged.

On November 5, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that water consumption in Gaza had declined by an average of 92% compared to pre-war levels, and that most of the 65 sewage pumping stations were not were operating.

On October 31, the WHO warned that mass displacement, overcrowding and damage to sanitation infrastructure could cause an “imminent public health catastrophe” in Gaza.

*UNOCHA says it has not independently verified figures provided by Palestinian and Israeli authorities.