A report prepared by independent researchers from the United States and Britain showed that about 8,000 more people could still die in the Gaza Strip during the next six months, even if the aggression stops now due to the crisis in the public health sector resulting from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

Hospitals in Gaza were destroyed due to the aggression, and more than 85% of the Strip’s population of 2,300,000 people became homeless amid a rise in disease cases. Such as: diarrhea and malnutrition in overcrowded refugee areas.

These numbers were contained in a report prepared by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health in the United States, and are part of larger estimates of the additional number of deaths that the aggression in Gaza may cause during the next six months.

The report published last Monday indicates that it does not include Israel. Because its public health system has not been touched.

Malnutrition

Researchers expect that severe injuries will be the cause of the majority of additional deaths in Gaza if the aggression continues or escalates. But deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases; Such as: cholera and the inability to receive care for diseases - such as diabetes - will also kill thousands.

The report says that in the worst case scenario, if the pace of aggression escalates, or a large outbreak of disease occurs, approximately 85,570 people may die by early August, including 68,650 deaths from causes related to severe injuries.

Even under a ceasefire, about 11,580 people could still die in the same period if disease outbreaks exacerbate the challenges related to rehabilitating the sanitation and health systems in Gaza. The report estimates that approximately 3,250 of these deaths will be due to long-term complications resulting from severe injuries, and 8,330 will be due to other causes.

Official figures issued by the Ministry of Health in Gaza showed that more than 29,000 people were killed as a result of the aggression since last October 7.

The researchers caution that the unpredictable nature of aggression and disease outbreaks means they have a wide range of estimates.

The report, funded by the British government, indicates that counting the number of martyrs in Gaza represents a challenge, and that its aim is to provide greater clarity.