The UN stated that “the majority of confirmed casualties of the Gaza war are women and children, accounting for almost 70%.”

The UN Human Rights Office stated on November 8, 2024 that “about 70% of those killed in the Gaza war were women and children.” The organization “condemned this as a systematic violation of international humanitarian law.”

According to the UN, 8,119 people are “confirmed casualties of the war between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.” That's significantly less than the 43,000 deaths reported by Palestinian health authorities. A UN analysis of the victims' age and gender “confirms that the majority of those killed were women and children.”

People under 18 “make up 44% of victims, with children between five and nine years old being the largest age category.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said “the need for serious consideration of allegations of violations of international law” by authoritative judicial bodies.

Israel says it is trying to minimize harm to civilians when conducting military operations in Gaza. They also note that each militant is matched by approximately one civilian and accuse Hamas of using civilian targets. Hamas denies the accusations.