3 years of Gaza genocide: The human toll of Israel’s assault

Hind Rajab, the little girl who pleaded for rescue from a car under fire. Refaat Alareer, the poet and teacher. Khaled Nabhan, the grandfather who called his slain granddaughter the 'soul of my soul,' Anas al-Sharif, the journalist who reported from northern Gaza. Those are just four of the more than 74,000 Palestinians killed during three years of genocidal war in Gaza. For those still alive, the losses extend beyond grief and injury. Families have repeatedly fled their homes, parents have lost their livelihoods, and children have grown up amid displacement, hunger and the destruction of schools and health services. A ceasefire in October 2025 reduced the intensity of fighting but did not end the killing or make a return home possible for much of the population. Here is what available data shows about the human toll. DEATH, INJURY, BEREAVEMENT Of the 71,444 fatalities identified by age and gender through Dec. 31, 2025, 47.7% were men, 29.8% were children, 15.4% were women and 7.1% were older people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In October 2023 alone, 8,805 Palestinians were reported killed, according to World Health Organization Health Cluster data. Thousands more Palestinians are believed to remain missing beneath destroyed buildings. In an Oct. 3 statement, the Hemaya Center for Human Rights said it had documented the killing of 21,745 children and around 46,000 injuries among children since October 2023, including 11,000 cases of amputation of the lower limbs. The center also reported 123 child deaths from malnutrition and dehydration, and 293 deaths among premature newborns amid deteriorating health services, electricity outages and shortages of medicines and supplies. The extent of family loss was already evident within the war's first year. A Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research poll conducted between May 26 and June 1, 2024, found that 61% of respondents in Gaza said a family member had been killed. Some 78% said a relative had been killed or injured. The survey covered accessible areas of central and southern Gaza, excluding the north and active combat zones. REPEATED DISPLACEMENT, FEW HOMES TO RETURN TO For large numbers of families, displacement has become prolonged because their homes have been destroyed or are unsafe to inhabit. An assessment by the World Bank, UN and EU, published in April, found that 371,888 housing units had been damaged or destroyed, representing about 77% of Gaza's housing stock. Its findings covered damage through October 2025. Separately, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said around 201,290 buildings had sustained damage through June 16, 2026-about 82% of all buildings in Gaza. Of those, 134,422 were completely destroyed. Around 94% of Gaza's population needed shelter assistance and basic household items, according to a Shelter Cluster assessment cited by OCHA and based on surveys in June. At the time, up to 65% of households were living in tents or makeshift structures offering little protection from the elements. The findings described inadequate protection from the weather, deteriorating temporary shelters and limited access to essential services, exposing families to serious health and safety risks. More than half of households living in tents had used the same tent for more than a year, while more than half of assessed tents and makeshift shelters were in poor or very poor condition. OCHA has also identified hundreds of displacement sites at risk of flooding, putting hundreds of thousands of people living in temporary shelters at additional risk. LIVELIHOODS DESTROYED Gaza's unemployment rate reached 78%, while more than 90% of the working-age population was not employed. It's annual economic output per person fell to $212 in 2025, just 17% of its 2022 level. Meanwhile, prices in 2025 remained 274% above their 2022 level, with essentials such as potatoes and cooking gas costing several times their earlier prices, according to the report. The collapse has reached nearly every productive sector. Agricultural and industrial output were each 94% below their 2022 levels, while construction was down 99%. HUNGER AND DEPENDENCE ON AID 'Food security depends entirely on aid. Most Gazans, including children and pregnant and nursing women, face acute food insecurity and malnutrition,' the UN Trade and Development report said. 'Children under five risk irreversible damage, including stunted growth, cognitive impairment and developmental deficits that jeopardize their long-term health,' the report warned. LIFE AFTER CEASEFIRE More than half of Gaza's hospitals and primary health clinics were non-functional, according to the assessment cited by UN Trade and Development. Nearly 98% of school buildings in Gaza had been damaged since October 2023, with more than 93% requiring major rehabilitation or full reconstruction, according to UNICEF. Around 541,000 students returned to school in September, according to Palestinian figures, many studying in makeshift classrooms without basic supplies. The return followed years of disrupted education. UNICEF said 700,000 children aged four to 17 had missed formal face-to-face schooling for three consecutive years, including around 420,000 who had received no in-person learning at all. The latest UN Trade and Development report put recovery and reconstruction needs at $71.5 billion, warning that the estimate could rise as further damage is recorded.

3 years of Gaza genocide: The human toll of Israel’s assault

From Hind Rajab's desperate recorded pleas for rescue to poet Refaat Alareer's final verses, a succession of emblematic figures&mdash;including bereaved grandfather Khaled Nabhan and reporter Anas al-Sharif&mdash;have come to define the human toll and documentation of the war in Gaza.

From Hind Rajab's desperate recorded pleas for rescue to poet Refaat Alareer's final verses, a succession of emblematic figures—including bereaved grandfather Khaled Nabhan and reporter Anas al-Sharif—have come to define the human toll and documentation of the war in Gaza.