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IPFS News Link • Israel - Palestine
The uncounted Gaza victims: Why hundreds of thousands are being allowed to die
• https://www.rt.com, Eva BartlettEarlier this month, the Lancet published an article estimating that the total number of Palestinian civilian deaths caused directly and indirectly by Israeli attacks since October 2023 could be nearly five times higher than the official death toll, and could reach "up to 186 000 or even more."
It noted that "this would translate to 7.9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip."
According to the piece, the latest available count of Palestinians killed – 37,396 – is far too low, based on the fact that it is still unknown how many more lie under the rubble, how many are missing but not accounted for among the dead, and how many will perish due to starvation, dehydration, or diseases.
"Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases," it noted.
However, even this Lancet estimate of nearly 200,000 dead might be only half the actual number of Palestinians killed, according to some counts.
Norwegian Dr. Mads Gilbert, who has worked extensively from Gaza over the years – notably during times when Israel was waging wars on the Palestinian enclave – recently outlined the manifold preventable conditions which contribute to such "indirect" deaths, estimating the number dead or soon to die could be over 500,000.
As causes of indirect deaths, he details "the lack of food entering Gaza and the destruction the agriculture, the fisheries, the poultry, the dairy farms, and so on. The lack of water, which leads to dehydration and infections."
The third component of the "triangle of death" is common diseases, Gilbert notes. "There are maybe as many as 10,000 or more cancer patients in Gaza. The Israeli army bombed the Rantisi hospital for children with cancer and they bombed the Turkish friendship hospital for adult cancer patients. They do not allow cancer drugs to come in."