The numbers show Gaza war is one of the bloodiest in the 21st century

One of the favourite arguments of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli spokespeople, is to accuse the international community of hypocrisy concerning the war in the Gaza Strip – and to claim it is ignoring other conflicts and humanitarian disasters.

"Where was South Africa when millions were killed or expelled from their homes in Syria and Yemen," said Netanyahu in January, for example. But a cold examination of the numbers killed in the Gaza Strip reveals this is one of the bloodiest wars since the beginning of the century, especially if you examine the rate of mortality out of the total population.

Close to 40,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7. In percentage terms that's two percent of the population of about two million people. For comparison, two percent of Israel's population is some 198,000 people. "In terms of the total number of dead, I assume Gaza won't be among the 10 most violent conflicts of the 21st century," Prof. Michael Spagat of the University of London told Haaretz.

"But compared to the percentage of the population killed," Spagat says he assumes it is already among the top five. Spagat is a researcher of war and armed conflict and monitors the number of casualties in conflicts. "If we factor in the amount of time it took to kill one percent of this population, then it could be unprecedented," he said.

The figures on the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip are based on information released by the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, controlled by Hamas. Since the beginning of the fighting, the information has been examined by a large number of international organisations, governments and media outlets and there is a broad consensus that the information is credible.