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LONDON - After two years of conflict in Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, 1.9 million people are displaced, and hundreds of thousands face starvation as famine spreads.

Israel launched its ground and air assault after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded in September that Israel had in the narrow 25-mile (40 km) strip of land, an assessment rejected by Israel.

Here is a breakdown of the conflict's impact.

Deaths and injuries

Palestinian officials say at least 67,000 people but estimate thousands more bodies are buried under rubble.

About 168,700 others have been wounded, according to Gaza's health ministry. U.N. experts say could have permanent injuries.

Israeli officials have said the ministry's count is suspect because of Hamas' control of the government in Gaza, but it is often cited by U.N. agencies.

The ministry says more than have been killed and more than 18,900 injured while trying to access aid since May when Israel established a new distribution system, overseen by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and private U.S. security firms.

The U.N. says many people have been near GHF distribution sites, while some have been crushed in stampedes. Others have died while seeking food near aid convoys run by the U.N. or U.N. partners.

More than have also been killed in Gaza, according to the Aid Worker Security Database, the highest toll of any conflict it has recorded.

Israel said earlier this year it had killed . The military says Hamas uses civilians as human shields by operating within densely populated areas, humanitarian zones, schools and hospitals. Hamas denies this. 

Israeli soldiers have been killed in the conflict and about 2,900 have been wounded, according to the military.

Twenty of the 48 hostages remaining in Gaza are believed to still be alive.

Famine

A , affecting more than half a million people in Gaza City and surrounding areas, was confirmed in August by a U.N.-backed global hunger monitor.

Contributing factors include Israel's blockade of food deliveries in March and April, continuing restrictions on aid, repeated waves of displacement and the destruction of farming.

Aid agencies fear to the areas of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering in tents along the coast.

Israel says the hunger crisis is exaggerated. But U.N. agencies say more than one in three people report going days without eating.

Rates of life-threatening malnutrition in children are soaring, with one in five in Gaza City.

There have been during the conflict, with numbers escalating this year, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Children

At least one Palestinian child has been killed every hour on average during the war, according to Save the Children.

It says children have been killed - nearly a third of the overall death toll - and 42,000 have been injured.

Gaza now has than anywhere in the world, according to U.N. experts.

Many children are deeply traumatised and require mental health and psychosocial support.

Every school in the Gaza Strip has been closed since the start of the war, depriving 660,000 children of education.

Homes and buildings

About have been displaced, some 10 times or more.

More than 90% of , schools and hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, contributing to more than 60 million tonnes of rubble, according to U.N. estimates.

Only hospitals are functioning, albeit partially.

The World Health Organization has documented more than 720 attacks on healthcare, with at least .

The war has also decimated agriculture with about damaged or inaccessible.

Economic impact

More than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people were already living in poverty pre-war; now almost everyone is.

is needed for recovery and reconstruction, according to an assessment in February by the U.N., European Union and World Bank.

This includes $29.9 billion for rebuilding and repairs, and $19.1 billion to make up for social and economic losses, including in health, education, commerce and industry.

Environmental impact

A study by an international research team published by Queen Mary University of London calculated that the from the first 15 months of the war exceeded the annual emissions of more than 100 individual countries.

It estimated that more than 31 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent could be emitted through the current destruction and future clean-up and rebuilding.

The war has caused to land, soil, trees, watercourses and marine ecosystems, according to the U.N. Environment Programme, which says recovery could take decades.

Millions of tonnes of rubble are likely contaminated with asbestos, industrial waste, heavy metals and other hazardous materials. Sewage has also polluted land and water.

This story was updated on October 6 2025 at 11:45 GMT to reflect the latest figures.

(Reporting by Emma Batha and Nazih Osseiran; Editing by Jon Hemming, Ayla Jean Yackley and Lyndsay Griffiths.)