Gaza's population shrinks from 2.3M to 2.1M amid Palestinian deaths, exodus

The UN humanitarian community in Gaza has lowered its estimate of the population in the besieged territory from roughly 2.3 million people to about 2.1 million, following thousands of deaths and exodus of Palestinians.

Andrea De Domenico, who heads the UN humanitarian office for the Palestinian territories, said on Wednesday that nine months into the Israel's war on Gaza, the UN "for the sole purpose of humanitarian planning" lowered the pre-war population estimate of a little less than 2.3 million, based on two numbers it has.

He said that 110,000 people have fled Gaza and crossed into Egypt since October, according to the border authority, and close to 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war.

Over 87,000 Palestinians are wounded, while another 10,000 are estimated to be buried under the debris of bombed homes.

This doesn't preclude that some people who left might come back, De Domenico told a UN press conference from Jerusalem.

"But just for our programming purposes, as the humanitarian community, we estimate that the population present in Gaza comprises about 2.1 million people."

According to the UN Population Fund, the ongoing war in Gaza has inflicted a devastating toll on Palestinians, especially women and girls, who are enduring profound exhaustion from relentless trauma, displacement, and fear.

Since October 2023, approximately one million women and girls have been displaced multiple times in search of safety across Gaza, where security remains elusive.

Among an estimated 155,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women, the severe shortages of food, water, shelter, and access to healthcare pose life-threatening risks, exacerbated by a surge in infectious diseases and the looming threat of famine.

'Maelstrom of human misery'

Expelling Palestinians from Gaza has been vowed by many in Israel, including its far-right lawmakers and several government agencies.

A leaked document from Israel's Ministry of Intelligence, as reported by Wikileaks and verified by Hebrew website Mekomit, revealed Israeli plans for Gaza.

The document outlines steps to expel Gaza's Palestinian population to northern Sinai in Egypt: forcing civilians to flee north Gaza, conducting sequential military operations from north to south Gaza, ensuring clear routes across Rafah, and establishing tent cities in northern Sinai while building permanent settlements for Palestinians in Egypt.

Pertinently, Israel's ongoing assault in Gaza has forcibly displaced a majority Palestinians, according to a UN humanitarian official. Another round of evacuations was imposed by Israel on hundreds of thousands across southern and central Gaza.

Sigrid Kaag, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, described Gaza as an "abyss of suffering" and a "maelstrom of human misery" due to Israel's brutal assault and humanitarian blockade.

Kaag reported that since May this year, over 1 million people in Rafah alone have been displaced once again, desperately seeking shelter. Overall, 1.9 million people are now displaced across Gaza.