Study Reveals Sharp Decline in Gaza Life Expectancy
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RDA Gulf Correspondent - . January 24, 2025
- . Update: January 25, 2025 10:41 am
According to a recent study, the average life expectancy in the Palestinian enclave has decreased by 35 years as a result of Israel’s assault in Gaza. According to data released by the Lancet journal, life expectancy had decreased to 40.5 years by September 2024 compared to 75.5 years before to Israel’s October 2023 invasion.
The true average age may be lower, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, because only statistics from people died by battle injuries were taken into account rather than total casualty numbers which were probably made worse by the breakdown of Gaza’s healthcare system. The conclusions were reached by comparing the death lists from Gaza’s health officials with census data and a UN refugee list.
“Our life expectancy results show that the … war in the Gaza Strip generated a life expectancy loss of more than 30 years during the first 12 months of the war, nearly halving pre-war levels,” the study’s authors said.
The UN believes the Gaza health statistics which indicates that 47,000 people have perished to be reliable despite the logistical problems brought on by the conflict. The identities of 8,119 individuals slain between November 2023 and April 2024 were confirmed by the UN Human Rights Office. It further said that around 80% of fatalities occurred in residential buildings, with 44% of the victims being children and 26% being women, with the greatest age group being 5–9 years old.
“Our case-by-case evaluation of the Gaza Health Ministry list of killed individuals did not detect any substantial errors or signs of intentional inflation,” the researchers said. “It is highly likely that our central estimates underestimate true losses, because they do not include individuals reported missing or under the rubble. Even more importantly, our results do not include the indirect effects of the war on mortality.”
According to a different Lancet research released earlier this month, the 47,000 casualties may be about 40% lower than the actual number.
