A recent report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that the Gaza Strip is suffering from a significant population decline as a result of the genocide committed by the Zionist occupation, which has been ongoing since October 7, 2023. The aggression, which targeted lives, property, and infrastructure, left behind massive destruction that turned cities into rubble and left harsh effects on homes, walls, and the memory of Palestinians. Entire neighborhoods have disappeared, and whole families are no longer listed in civil records, amid unprecedented human and material losses.
According to statistics issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip reached 45,484 people by the end of December 2024, including about 17,581 children and 12,048 women. About 11,000 missing persons have also been registered. The number of wounded reached about 108,090 people, while about 100,000 Palestinians were forced to leave the Strip since the beginning of the aggression. In the West Bank, 835 Palestinians were martyred and 6,450 others were injured as a result of attacks by the Israeli occupation and settlers.
According to these figures, the population of the State of Palestine at the end of 2024 was estimated at 5.5 million people, including 3.4 million in the West Bank. As for the Gaza Strip, the number decreased to about 2.1 million people, a decrease estimated at 160,000 people compared to the estimates of 2023, equivalent to a reduction of 6%. It is noteworthy that children under the age of eighteen constitute about 47% of the population of the Strip, with their number exceeding one million children.
This decrease comes in light of the ongoing humanitarian and political catastrophe in occupied Palestine, and these data were accompanied by serious indicators of the life-threatening situation of newborns and women alike. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, there are approximately 60,000 pregnant women at risk due to the lack of health care in the Gaza Strip, and 13,649 pregnant women are expected to give birth in the coming month, with 5,522 women in the Gaza Strip and 8,127 women in the West Bank. In addition, 155,000 pregnant and lactating women face difficult challenges in accessing and obtaining prenatal and postnatal health care services.
In addition, 96% of the population in the Gaza Strip (2.1 million people) faces high levels of acute food insecurity until September 2024, including approximately 49,300 pregnant women. More than 495,000 people (22% of the population) face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity (Phase 5), including 11,000 pregnant women. About 3,500 children are at risk of death due to malnutrition and food shortages, as 36 children died as a result of famine and malnutrition.
