The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip has experienced a sharp and unprecedented decline in its population over the past two years, as a direct result of the ongoing war and its humanitarian and demographic consequences. According to the bureau, Gaza’s population has fallen by around 254,000 people, representing a decrease of approximately 10.6 percent compared to estimates prior to 7 October 2023. Officials described the decline as the most severe in the territory’s history.
The bureau stated that the current population of Gaza stands at about 2.13 million people, noting that the drop reflects what it described as an acute demographic hemorrhage caused by large-scale killing, forced displacement, and the collapse of living conditions. The figures point to profound structural changes in the population as the conflict continues.
Official data show that by the end of December 2025, the death toll in Gaza had reached 70,942 people, including 18,592 children and around 12,400 women, in addition to nearly 11,000 missing persons. The number of wounded rose to 171,195. Since the start of the Israeli offensive, about 100,000 Palestinians have left the Gaza Strip, while nearly two million people have been displaced internally from their homes out of a pre-war population of roughly 2.2 million.
In the West Bank, the statistics agency reported that intensified Israeli military operations and settler violence resulted in the killing of 1,102 Palestinians and the injury of 9,034 others, underscoring the broader human cost of the conflict across the Palestinian territories.
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