365 days of horror since 7 October: The Gaza war in numbers

On 7 October last year, Hamas launched a terror attack into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages into the Gaza Strip.

In response, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has embarked upon a devastating year-long bombing and ground campaign in Gaza.

As a result, latest figures from the Hamas-run health ministry say that 41,870 Palestinians have been killed, with one in four of them children.

A further 97,166 people have been injured, according to the health ministry, while repeated attacks on healthcare facilities have damaged 31 out of 36 of the hospitals that previously operated in the region.

According to the World Health Organisation, 12,000 patients are currently in need of treatment, with many of those suffering extensive burns and amputated limbs with limited access to lifesaving medical care.

Despite persistent attempts by the US, Qatar and neighbouring allies of both Israel and Hamas, no ceasefire deal has been successfully negotiated. During a brief pause in the war last November, the militant group released 110 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners, but the onslaught soon continued.

Around 1.9 million people, accounting for 90 per cent of the population, have now been forcibly displaced, with many living in refugee camps and facing food and economic insecurity.

Repeated calls for a ceasefire and warnings from Israel’s enemies have gone unheeded, with violence now spreading to the West Bank and Lebanon as concerns grow of a wider regional conflict.

In September, over 3,000 people were injured and at least 32 killed when pagers and walkie-talkies linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, exploded. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading cross-border fire since the attack by Hamas, who are also backed by Iran. But the conflict has escalated in recent weeks.

A number of their top Hezbollah commanders have been killed by Israel, including long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah. Iran has retaliated by launching around 200 missiles towards Israel.

The Israeli army has started sending troops into southern Lebanon, while deadly airstrikes continue to kill civilians in Gaza.

Data from conflict specialist non-profit ACLED (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data) shows that there have been over 20,000 strikes, artillery attacks, missiles and explosions in the region between October 7 2023 and September 27 2024.

The data is collected from a variety of sources ongoing throughout the conflict, and not independently verified. Figures should be taken as approximate, as more attacks may not have been recorded.

Israel has carried out in excess of 10,547 of these cross-border attacks (specifically air/drone strikes, artillery/missile attacks, and remote explosions/landmines) in Palestinian territory, in that timeframe.

When including strategic actions such as bombing of bridges and infrastructure, the number is much higher. This also excludes battles and other violence against civilians.

Meanwhile, attacks on Israel by foreign actors (including Hamas, Hezbollah and allies) are at over 2,042.

The majority of these, around three in four, have been carried out by Hezbollah.

According to ACLED’s databases, over half of Israel’s armed attacks in Gaza and the West Bank have been “civilian targeting” – where civilians were the main or only target of an attack.

This makes up approximately 6,000 explosive attacks which targeted civilians in Palestine in under one year.

Israeli forces have previously justified bombing civilians due to Hamas using Palestinians as “human shields”; recent reporting from The Independent showed that Israeli soldiers have used civilians in the same way.

Overall, Israel has carried out five times as many armed attacks on Palestinian territory, compared to all attacks on Israel combined.

Here’s a look at all the figures after a year of conflict in the Middle East: