How Many People Have Died in Gaza?

Roughly 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Is the number accurate?

Confusing Counts: A May 6 report on the death toll from a United Nations agency said roughly 9,500 women and 14,500 children had been killed since the war began on Oct. 7. Two days later, the same agency reported that 4,959 women and 7,797 children had been killed. A UN spokesperson later said the Health Ministry is recording both an overall toll and a count of identified fatalities. Only the number of fatalities whose identities had been confirmed was published in the May 8 U.N. report, fueling confusion. 

Is it Accurate?: Johns Hopkins researchers found "no evidence of inflated" death counts, according to a correspondence published in December. Others highlight how the death toll is based significantly on reports other than hospital records and suggest the true toll is roughly half of what's been reported. Meanwhile, others maintain that thousands of people who remain missing or potentially buried beneath rubble aren't included in the toll.

How the Media Covered It: Fox News (Right bias) described the death toll as "unverified" and didn't mention the U.N.'s clarification. Many left- and center-rated sources report the Health Ministry death toll as fact.

Why the Difference? Some, especially on the political right, suspect that Hamas has inflated death tolls to turn the world against Israel.  Updated 5/14/24 at 10:10am ET.