They include doctors, journalists, professors and poets.
More than 11,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. While there is no breakdown between fighters and civilians, most of the dead are women and children.
In just a little over a month of war, that amounts to over 0.5 percent of Gaza’s more than 2 million people.
Mora tha 10,000 people were killed in Gaza since Oct. 7
This was Hala Mufid Abu Saada. She was 14 years old and lived in the Jabalya camp in Gaza’s Al Fakhoura area.
Photo by the family of Hala.
She loved drawing, Dabkeh dancing and singing.
She was killed on Oct. 16 when an Israeli airstrike destroyed her family home, taking the lives of her mother, brother and five sisters as well.
That day 87 children, including Hala, were killed in Gaza.
At least 4,609 children have been killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 13.
Those who knew her said Hala was a smart child. It took two days for the family’s bodies to be recovered from the rubble.
500
Leen Abed Al Fattah Al-Kurd, 4
1,000
Fadwa Hussein
Al-Astal, 13
1,500
2,000
Tulin Muhammad
Al-Taaban, infant
2,500
Fatima Muhammad
Al-Najjar, 5
Malak, 11, Yasmin, 6, Nour, 3, and Malik, 10, were killed on Oct. 25 while their father, Youssef Sharaf, was out distributing food to displaced Gazans.
Maryam Ahmed Saidam, 1
3,500
Tamam Mustafah Nofal,4
4,000
4,500
This was Hala Mufid Abu Saada. She was 14 years old and lived in the Jabalya camp in Gaza’s Al Fakhoura area.
Photo by the family of Hala.
She loved drawing, Dabkeh dancing and singing.
She was killed on Oct. 16 when an Israeli airstrike destroyed her family home, taking the lives of her mother, brother and five sisters as well.
That day 87 children, including Hala, were killed in Gaza.
At least 4,609 children have been killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 13.
Those who knew her said Hala was a smart child. It took two days for the family’s bodies to be recovered from the rubble.
500
Leen Abed Al Fattah Al-Kurd, 4
1,000
Fadwa Hussein
Al-Astal, 13
1,500
2,000
Tulin Muhammad
Al-Taaban, infant
2,500
Fatima Muhammad
Al-Najjar, 5
Malak, 11, Yasmin, 6, Nour, 3, and Malik, 10, were killed on Oct. 25 while their father, Youssef Sharaf, was out distributing food to displaced Gazans.
Maryam Ahmed Saidam, 1
3,500
Tamam Mustafah Nofal,4
4,000
4,500
This was Hala Mufid Abu Saada. She was 14 years old and lived in the Jabalya camp in Gaza’s Al Fakhoura area.
She loved drawing, Dabkeh dancing and singing.
Photo by the family of Hala.
She was killed on Oct. 16 when an Israeli airstrike destroyed her family home, taking the lives of her mother, brother and five sisters as well.
That day 87 children, including Hala, were killed in Gaza.
At least 4,609 children have been killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 13.
Those who knew her said Hala was a smart child. It took two days for the family’s bodies to be recovered from the rubble.
1,000
Fatima Muhammad Al-Najjar, 5
Maryam Ahmed
Saidam, 1
2,000
Tulin Muhammad Al-Taaban, infant
Leen Abed Al Fattah Al-Kurd, 4
Malak, 11, Yasmin, 6, Nour, 3, and Malik, 10, were killed on Oct. 25 while their father, Youssef Sharaf, was out distributing food to displaced Gazans.
3,000
Fadwa Hussein Al-Astal, 13
4,000
Tamam Mustafah Nofal,4
This was Hala Mufid Abu Saada. She was 14 years old and lived in the Jabalya camp in Gaza’s Al Fakhoura area.
She loved drawing, Dabkeh dancing and singing.
Photo by the family of Hala.
She was killed on Oct. 16 when an Israeli airstrike destroyed her family home, taking the lives of her mother, brother and five sisters as well.
That day 87 children, including Hala, were killed in Gaza.
At least 4,609 children have been killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 13.
Those who knew her said Hala was a smart child. It took two days for the family’s bodies to be recovered from the rubble.
1,000
Fatima Muhammad Al-Najjar, 5
Maryam Ahmed Saidam, 1
2,000
Tulin Muhammad Al-Taaban, infant
Leen Abed Al Fattah Al-Kurd, 4
Malak, 11, Yasmin, 6, Nour, 3, and Malik, 10, were killed on Oct. 25 while their father, Youssef Sharaf, was out distributing food to displaced Gazans.
3,000
Fadwa Hussein Al-Astal, 13
4,000
Tamam Mustafah Nofal,4
Adults deaths
And 6,571 adults were also killed in the last month.
Fidaa Ahmad Al-Sarhi, 33
Wafa Raafar Abu Al-Rous, 37, died on Oct. 25. She had hoped to visit Cairo one day.
Khalil Rafiq Al-Sharif, 28, tirelessly pursued a career in health care, which led him to volunteer with the red Crescent Society. He had dreams of starting a family. On Oct. 11 he responded to a call in northern Gaza, hoping to rescue those wounded there. Another shell dropped on the site, killing Al-Sharif and two of his fellow ambulance crew members.
1,000
Samar Khalil Hassouna, 48
Wissam Musa Eid, 49
Ataf Madi turned 61 just before she died, crushed under the rubble of her Khan Younis home. She worked as a school principal, and her joy came from tending to her spacious garden, lush with fruit trees and flowers, as well as her seven chickens.
2,000
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
Hani Issa El-Haddad was quick-witted and passionate about art and astronomy, said his daughter Basma. “He knew something about everything, it seemed to me.” He loved books and movies, especially action films and Westerns. He could also solve any math problem his daughter presented to him, like a sorcerer casting a spell, she said.
Sharha Saleem Daloul, 82
3,000
Suleiman Tarazi, a dentist, lived in Gaza City with his wife Lily Saba and their children, Jamil and Jad. He and his two sons were killed while taking refuge in one of the last remaining Greek Orthodox churches.
Hadeel Abu Al-Rous, 31, was killed on Oct. 13 in Rafah. She was a physics teacher and the mother of four children: Eileen, Celine, Muhammad and Mahmoud. They died with her, as did her husband, Basil, who had dreamed of attending a live soccer match.
4,000
Husam Muhammad Al-Lamdani, 21
Mohammed Attef Al Dabbour was a beloved medical school professor. One of his third-year students had dreaded the class he taught, pathology, known for its challenging and vast curriculum. But once in Professor Al Dabbour’s class, it became an adventure, the student said. “Everything about him was special. How passionate he was. How supportive, caring and understanding.”
5,000
Douaa Rabah Abu Ajwa, 29, was killed in an Israeli airstrike with her 7-year-old daughter, Sham, on Nov. 4. A day earlier, she had celebrated her other daughter’s fifth birthday.
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
6,000
At least 11,180 people were killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 10.
And 6,571 adults were also killed in the last month.
Fidaa Ahmad Al-Sarhi, 33
Wafa Raafar Abu Al-Rous, 37, died on Oct. 25. She had hoped to visit Cairo one day.
Khalil Rafiq Al-Sharif, 28, tirelessly pursued a career in health care, which led him to volunteer with the red Crescent Society. He had dreams of starting a family. On Oct. 11 he responded to a call in northern Gaza, hoping to rescue those wounded there. Another shell dropped on the site, killing Al-Sharif and two of his fellow ambulance crew members.
1,000
Samar Khalil Hassouna, 48
Wissam Musa Eid, 49
Ataf Madi turned 61 just before she died, crushed under the rubble of her Khan Younis home. She worked as a school principal, and her joy came from tending to her spacious garden, lush with fruit trees and flowers, as well as her seven chickens.
2,000
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
Hani Issa El-Haddad was quick-witted and passionate about art and astronomy, said his daughter Basma. “He knew something about everything, it seemed to me.” He loved books and movies, especially action films and Westerns. He could also solve any math problem his daughter presented to him, like a sorcerer casting a spell, she said.
Sharha Saleem Daloul, 82
3,000
Suleiman Tarazi, a dentist, lived in Gaza City with his wife Lily Saba and their children, Jamil and Jad. He and his two sons were killed while taking refuge in one of the last remaining Greek Orthodox churches.
Hadeel Abu Al-Rous, 31, was killed on Oct. 13 in Rafah. She was a physics teacher and the mother of four children: Eileen, Celine, Muhammad and Mahmoud. They died with her, as did her husband, Basil, who had dreamed of attending a live soccer match.
4,000
Husam Muhammad Al-Lamdani, 21
Mohammed Attef Al Dabbour was a beloved medical school professor. One of his third-year students had dreaded the class he taught, pathology, known for its challenging and vast curriculum. But once in Professor Al Dabbour’s class, it became an adventure, the student said. “Everything about him was special. How passionate he was. How supportive, caring and understanding.”
5,000
Douaa Rabah Abu Ajwa, 29, was killed in an Israeli airstrike with her 7-year-old daughter, Sham, on Nov. 4. A day earlier, she had celebrated her other daughter’s fifth birthday.
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
6,000
At least 11,180 people were killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 10.
And 6,571 adults were also killed in the last month.
Fidaa Ahmad Al-Sarhi, 33
Wafa Raafar Abu Al-Rous, 37, died on Oct. 25. She had hoped to visit Cairo one day.
Khalil Rafiq Al-Sharif, 28, tirelessly pursued a career in health care, which led him to volunteer with the red Crescent Society. He had dreams of starting a family. On Oct. 11 he responded to a call in northern Gaza, hoping to rescue those wounded there. Another shell dropped on the site, killing Al-Sharif and two of his fellow ambulance crew members.
Samar Khalil
Hassouna, 48
1,000
Ataf Madi turned 61 just before she died, crushed under the rubble of her Khan Younis home. She worked as a school principal, and her joy came from tending to her spacious garden, lush with fruit trees and flowers, as well as her seven chickens.
Wissam Musa
Eid, 49
2,000
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
Sharha Saleem Daloul, 82
Hani Issa El-Haddad was quick-witted and passionate about art and astronomy, said his daughter Basma. “He knew something about everything, it seemed to me.” He loved books and movies, especially action films and Westerns. He could also solve any math problem his daughter presented to him, like a sorcerer casting a spell, she said.
3,000
Mohammed Attef Al Dabbour was a beloved medical school professor. One of his third-year students had dreaded the class he taught, pathology, known for its challenging and vast curriculum. But once in Professor Al Dabbour’s class, it became an adventure, the student said. “Everything about him was special. How passionate he was. How supportive, caring and understanding.”
Suleiman Tarazi, a dentist, lived in Gaza City with his wife Lily Saba and their children, Jamil and Jad. He and his two sons were killed while taking refuge in one of the last remaining Greek Orthodox churches.
4,000
Hadeel Abu Al-Rous, 31, was killed on Oct. 13 in Rafah. She was a physics teacher and the mother of four children: Eileen, Celine, Muhammad and Mahmoud. They died with her, as did her husband, Basil, who had dreamed of attending a live soccer match.
Husam Muhammad Al-Lamdani, 21
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
5,000
Douaa Rabah Abu Ajwa, 29, was killed in an Israeli airstrike with her 7-year-old daughter, Sham, on Nov. 4. A day earlier, she had celebrated her other daughter’s fifth birthday.
6,000
At least 11,180 people were killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 13.
And 6,571 adults were also killed in the last month.
Fidaa Ahmad Al-Sarhi, 33
Wafa Raafar Abu Al-Rous, 37, died on Oct. 25. She had hoped to visit Cairo one day.
Khalil Rafiq Al-Sharif, 28, tirelessly pursued a career in health care, which led him to volunteer with the red Crescent Society. He had dreams of starting a family. On Oct. 11 he responded to a call in northern Gaza, hoping to rescue those wounded there. Another shell dropped on the site, killing Al-Sharif and two of his fellow ambulance crew members.
Samar Khalil Hassouna, 48
1,000
Ataf Madi turned 61 just before she died, crushed under the rubble of her Khan Younis home. She worked as a school principal, and her joy came from tending to her spacious garden, lush with fruit trees and flowers, as well as her seven chickens.
Wissam Musa Eid, 49
2,000
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
Sharha Saleem Daloul, 82
Hani Issa El-Haddad was quick-witted and passionate about art and astronomy, said his daughter Basma. “He knew something about everything, it seemed to me.” He loved books and movies, especially action films and Westerns. He could also solve any math problem his daughter presented to him, like a sorcerer casting a spell, she said.
3,000
Mohammed Attef Al Dabbour was a beloved medical school professor. One of his third-year students had dreaded the class he taught, pathology, known for its challenging and vast curriculum. But once in Professor Al Dabbour’s class, it became an adventure, the student said. “Everything about him was special. How passionate he was. How supportive, caring and understanding.”
Suleiman Tarazi, a dentist, lived in Gaza City with his wife Lily Saba and their children, Jamil and Jad. He and his two sons were killed while taking refuge in one of the last remaining Greek Orthodox churches.
4,000
Hadeel Abu Al-Rous, 31, was killed on Oct. 13 in Rafah. She was a physics teacher and the mother of four children: Eileen, Celine, Muhammad and Mahmoud. They died with her, as did her husband, Basil, who had dreamed of attending a live soccer match.
Husam Muhammad Al-Lamdani, 21
Wafa Saeed Shaheen, 52
5,000
Douaa Rabah Abu Ajwa, 29, was killed in an Israeli airstrike with her 7-year-old daughter, Sham, on Nov. 4. A day earlier, she had celebrated her other daughter’s fifth birthday.
6,000
At least 11,180 people were killed in Gaza from Oct. 7 to Nov. 10.
The toll has stunned aid workers who have spent their lives working in conflict zones. The United Nations — which has lost more than 100 of its employees — has called the conditions “horrific,” describing Gaza as “a living nightmare” and “a graveyard for children.”
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On Oct. 7, Hamas militants overran southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 230 hostages, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry. Israel has responded with a relentless campaign of airstrikes and an expanding ground invasion on Gaza, destroying entire neighborhoods and displacing more than two-thirds of the population.
Strikes have hit refugee camps and residential neighborhoods, bakeries and water towers, solar panels and fishing boats, schools and hospitals, mosques and churches. Israel has said the strikes are aimed at Hamas infrastructure and are necessary to root out the group.
When we’re reporting on issues such as the death toll in the Israel-Gaza war, we use information provided from the Gaza Health Ministry (an agency of the Hamas-controlled government), the Israeli government, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the U.S. State Department and other international agencies.
The Washington Post, like other news organizations, cannot independently verify death tolls in the Israel-Gaza war. It is standard journalistic practice in conflicts to report figures from government officials and international agencies. This can sometimes mean accounts differ; when they do, we are clear about where specific information came from.
President Biden cast doubt on Oct. 25 on the numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry. Othersinhisadministration have said more recently that the casualty figures could be greater than reported.
“In these extraordinarily dense confines, it just stands to reason that there are very high casualties,” she said.
People disappeared
Around 2,700 others …
… including 1,500 children, …
… have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery.
Around 2,700 others …
… including 1,500 children, …
… have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery.
Around 2,700 others …
… including 1,500 children, …
… have been reported missing and may be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or recovery.
At least 45 percent of Gaza’s housing units have been damaged or destroyed. About 2,700 people aremissing, the United Nations estimates; many are probably buried under the rubble.
More than 28,000 people are injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
“A whole generation has been permanently damaged and disabled,” said Ghassan Abu Sittah, a British Palestinian doctor working in hospitals in northern Gaza.
Injured people in Gaza since Oct. 7
More than 28,000 people have
been injured since Oct. 7
Injured by day
2,000
1,788
1,580
1,500
1,142
1,000
519
500
0
7
10
15
20
25
30
1
5
7
Oct.
Nov.
More than 28,000 people have
been injured since Oct. 7
Killed by day
2,000
1,788
1,580
1,500
1,142
1,000
519
500
0
7
10
15
20
25
30
1
5
7
Oct.
Nov.
More than 28,000 people have
been injured since Oct. 7
Injured by day
2,000
1,788
1,580
1,500
1,142
1,000
519
500
0
7
10
15
20
25
30
1
5
7
Oct.
Nov.
But medical care is increasingly difficult to find. Fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals are functioning, according to the United Nations. The situation in northern Gaza is especially dire, as shelling and ground attacks intensify near al-Shifa, the enclave’s largest hospital, and other medical facilities nearby.
At least three babies died at Shifa when power ran out and incubators stopped working, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported Saturday. Doctors say dozens more newborns are at imminent risk.
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“We’re getting to a point of an even deeper level of catastrophic suffering and death,” said Mara Kronenfeld, the executive director of the U.S. National Committee of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. “Any of those hospitals that are functioning have oil to run their generators, and that fuel is running out.”
Supplies have begun to trickle in through Egypt. Aid workers say it’s not nearly enough.
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“It’s a drop in the bucket,” said Amber Alayyan, a pediatrician and deputy program manager for Palestine at Doctors Without Borders. Alayyan said the lack of supplies and the volume of injuries are overwhelming health-care centers.
Palestinians mourn their loved ones in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Oct. 26. (Loay Ayyoub for The Washington Post for The Washington Post)
People are coming into hospitals with severe burns, severed limbs and internal bleeding — injuries that could require multiple surgeries and “if not weeks of recovery, months and years,” she said.
“It’s absolutely impossible for any type of hospital to be able to sustain this type of burden,” Alayyan added. As more hospitals fail, she said, more people will die.
Nearly half of Gazans are children. More than 4,500 children have been killed since Oct. 7, surpassing the number of children killed in conflict zones around the world each year since 2019, according to Save the Children.
Charts showing number of child casualties in other major conflicts
Children killed in
major conflicts
Casualties vs. duration of conflict
Casualties
Syria
More than 12,000 children killed in 10 years
12,000
10,000
8,000
Afghanistan
Gaza
More than 4,000 children killed in one month
6,000
Yemen
4,000
Iraq
2,000
0
0
50
100
150
Duration of conflict
Months
Monthly average child casualties in conflicts
4,125
4,000 children
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
100
56
41
19
0
Syria
Afgha-
nistan
Yemen
Iraq
Gaza
Data on casualties in Syria only includes toll
confirmed by the United Nations.
Children killed in
major conflicts
Casualties vs. duration of conflict
Casualties
12,000
Syria
More than 12,000 children killed in 10 years
10,000
8,000
Afghanistan
Gaza
More than 4,000 children killed in one month
6,000
Yemen
4,000
Iraq
2,000
0
0
50
100
150
Duration of conflict
Months
Monthly average child casualties in conflicts
4,125
4,000 children
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
100
56
41
19
0
Syria
Afghanistan
Yemen
Iraq
Gaza
Data on casualties in Syria only includes toll
confirmed by the United Nations.
Children killed in major conflicts
Casualties vs. duration of conflict
Casualties
Syria
More than 12,000 children killed in 10 years
12,000
10,000
8,000
Afghanistan
Gaza
More than 4,000 children killed in one month
6,000
Yemen
4,000
Iraq
2,000
0
0
50
100
150
Duration of conflict
Months
Monthly average child
casualties in conflicts
4,125
4,000 children
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
100
56
41
19
0
Syria
Afghanistan
Yemen
Iraq
Gaza
Data on casualties in Syria only includes toll
confirmed by the United Nations.
“The cost to society will be seen for years to come,” Alayyan said.
Heba Abu Nada, a beloved Palestinian novelist and poet, posted a poem in Arabic on X, formerly Twitter, on Oct. 8 describing her life in Gaza.
“The city night is dark except for the glow of missiles, quiet except for the sound of bombs, terrifying except for the comfort of prayer, black except for the light of those who have been killed,” she wrote. “Good night, Gaza.”
It was her last tweet. Twelve days later, the 32-year-old was killed.
About this story
Editing by Reem Akkad and Samuel Granados. Copy editing by Paola Ruano.
Miriam Berger, Hajar Harb, Hazem Balousha and Heba Farouk Mahfouz contributed to this report.
Sources: Data as of Nov. 13. Breakdowns as of Nov. 10. Gaza Health Ministry, United Nations, UNICEF, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Testimonies of those killed are based on interviews with relatives and friends, with additional information from their social media accounts.
Israel-Gaza war
The Israeli military said it is carrying out a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas” at al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital. President Biden said Monday that Gaza’s hospitals “must be protected” as Israeli soldiers surrounded Shifa, and the hospital ran out of power and medicine. Understand what’s behind the Israel-Gaza war.
