Sat Jan 11 14:37:53 UTC 2025: ## Gaza Death Toll Rises to 46,537 Amidst Ongoing Israel-Hamas War
**Jerusalem, January 11, 2025** – The death toll in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 46,537 following the addition of 499 previously unrecorded deaths, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. The ministry also reported that at least 109,571 people have been wounded since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas over 15 months ago. The newly reported deaths, confirmed after a data review, occurred over the past several months.
The accuracy of the Gaza health ministry’s figures has been a point of contention since the conflict began. Israeli authorities have repeatedly expressed skepticism, while the UN considers the ministry’s numbers reliable. This skepticism is further fueled by a recent study published in *The Lancet*, which estimated that the death toll during the first nine months of the war was approximately 40% higher than the officially reported numbers. The *Lancet* study, while relying on data from the Gaza health ministry, also incorporated online surveys and social media to arrive at its estimate. Importantly, the study only accounted for deaths caused by traumatic injuries, excluding those resulting from lack of healthcare, food shortages, or the missing presumed dead under rubble.
The ongoing conflict, triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, continues to cause widespread devastation and loss of life in Gaza. The discrepancy in reported death tolls highlights the complexities of data collection in active conflict zones and the ongoing challenges in accurately assessing the human cost of the war.
First Piper 