Masha Midhath   22 December 2023 - 07:27 PM
Over 20,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, according to health authorities in the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas.

With more than 80 percent of Gaza's residents already displaced and large portions of the small coastal enclave destroyed in less than ten weeks, the figure—which represents over one percent of the territory's prewar population—is a fresh illustration of the war's devastating cost.

Gaza’s health ministry said Friday that it has documented 20,057 deaths in the fighting. It does not differentiate between combatant and civilian deaths.

It has previously said that roughly two-thirds of the dead were women or minors.