Geneva academy suggests Gaza death toll exceed 200,000 based on population decline

Last updated Feb 11, 2026 11:32 PM

GENEVA, Feb. 12 (YPA) – The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law has suggested that the death toll in Gaza may have surpassed 200,000, referencing what it characterizes as Israeli genocide.

The estimate is based on data indicating that the population of the Gaza Strip has declined by more than 10 percent since October 2023.

Stuart Casey-Maslen, head of the Academy’s International Humanitarian Law project, said in an interview with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that such a population decrease would suggest a loss of around 200,000 people. He noted that figures reported so far may not reflect the full scale of human losses.

“We welcome the absence of a repeat of the violent clashes that preceded last year’s ceasefire, but this does not mean that the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is over,” Maslen said.

He added that conditions in Gaza remain dire, particularly for the wounded who require safe evacuation and proper medical treatment.

“Everyone in Gaza is facing alarming conditions; people are still dying,” he said, stressing the urgent need to increase humanitarian aid, including food, water, shelter, protection from extreme weather, and medical supplies.

Maslen noted that “there is broad agreement that more than 70,000 civilians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, but emphasized that this figure does not represent a final count.” He explained that current statistics are based only on recovered bodies, while many victims are believed to remain buried under rubble.

The Gaza Ministry of Health recently reported 72,045 deaths and 171,686 injuries, adding that thousands of victims remain trapped under debris due to the inability of ambulance and civil defense teams to reach them.

Maslen also cited a report from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics stating that Gaza’s population has fallen by more than 10 percent. He cautioned that the figures still need to be verified, but said that if confirmed, they would indicate that the actual number of victims could be far higher than officially reported—possibly surpassing 200,000.

“We will need time to determine the exact number,” he said, “but it is clear that we are facing an enormous human loss, and it is essential to establish how these people were killed.”