Visualizing the casualties between Israel and Palestine
Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7th, 2023, much work has been done on both sides to paint the other as violent, merciless killers with no regard for civilians or the fallout from their destruction.
It is important to understand that the Palestinian conflict is one that has lasted for decades, and has a variety of dimensions from which to analyze. The United Nations has published confirmed casualties in the region between 2008 to 2023, just before the most recent conflict. Through looking at the data can we gain a better, more unbiased overview of the distribution of destruction in the region.
Looking at the injury and fatality visualizations depict a stark disproportion between Israeli and Palestinian casualties — please note, however, that the data for Palestinian casualties omits the distinction between civilian and fighter. Israeli civilians comprised a majority of casualties within the data. Other omissions include those who could not be classified by age or sex.
According to the data, Palestinian men are disproportionately the most affected over time by the conflict in occupied Gaza, the West Bank, and other regions of conflict. It is crucial to understand this substantial disparity in outfall when considering not only the victims of those involved in fighting, but innocent civilians as well. Though many extrapolations and judgements can be made from this data, none will be made here.
Furthermore, differing numbers on casualties have been given to date by the Israeli Army and the Palestinian Health Ministry. The United Nations confirmed casualty count is the most accurate and unbiased distribution of data that currently exists. Until that distribution includes that of the current conflict, little will be done to accompany that data.
As it stands, the fallout between the Israelis and Palestinians has incredibly affected the latter in both injury and fatality. This continued disproportion likely will continue as Israel executes its attack on Gaza.
