Palestinian statistics bureau projects Gaza population down by 6% since start of war

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) estimates that Gaza's population has fallen by about 6% since the start of Israel's war on the enclave.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The PCBS states that more than 55,000 are presumed dead, as 11,000 people remain missing. About 100,00 Palestinians that left Gaza since 7 October, 2023, it adds.

As such, the PCBS says Gaza's population has declined by around 160,000 to 2.1 million. While Israel's foreign ministry says this number is fabricated, it matches the estimate made by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). As of July 2024, OCHA estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip.

"There are catastrophic human and material losses," the PCBS wrote, "yet this aggressive, brutal Israeli aggression against all of Gaza Strip continues."

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's top court based in The Hague, ruled last January that Israel must prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians.

Multiple human rights organisations have accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza because of the scale of death and destruction.

In December, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that by systematically restricting and targeting Gaza’s water supply forms a campaign that amounts to “acts of genocide.”

It was the latest among a growing number of critics to accuse Israel of genocidal acts in its war in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the allegations, saying its war is directed at Hamas militants, not Gaza's civilians.

“Human Rights Watch is once more spreading its blood libels in order to promote its anti-Israel propaganda,” Israel's Foreign Ministry said. It claimed Israel has worked to facilitate the flow of water and humanitarian aid into Gaza throughout the war.

In its report, HRW alleged that countless infants, children and adults have died from malnutrition, dehydration and illness as a result of actions by Israeli authorities over more than a year of war to deliberately cut the flow of water and electricity to Gaza, destroy infrastructure and prevent the distribution of critical supplies.

“As a state policy, these acts constitute a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population. Israeli officials are therefore committing the crime against humanity of extermination,” the New York-based group said.

The rights group said that the “pattern of conduct” outlined in its report and statements from Israeli officials “may indicate" genocidal intent, but it did not come down definitively on one side. Under international law, proving intent is key in concluding whether the crime of genocide has been committed.

When the ICJ issued its orders that Israel provide Palestinians with basic services and assistance, officials ignored them, the group alleged.

Human Rights Watch said its findings were based on interviews with more than 60 Palestinians, accounts from utility employees, doctors and other healthcare workers and aid workers, and analysis of satellite images, photos and video.

“Doctors and nurses told Human Rights Watch that they had seen numerous infants, children, and adults die from a combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and disease,” the group said.

HRW's report came two weeks after Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel dismissed the allegation as as “entirely false and based on lies.” Israel has previously refuted charges lodged by South Africa in the International Court of Justice that its forces have carried out inhumane acts in the embattled enclave.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court is seeking the arrests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for allegedly committing war crimes. — Euronews