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Half a Year into the War in Gaza, Here’s a Look at the Conflict by the Numbers

Palestinians flee from northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP)
Palestinians flee from northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP)
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Half a Year into the War in Gaza, Here’s a Look at the Conflict by the Numbers

Palestinians flee from northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP)
Palestinians flee from northern Gaza as Israeli tanks block the Salah al-Din road in the central Gaza Strip on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP)

The Israel-Hamas war has stretched on for half a year and become one of the most destructive, deadly, and intractable conflicts of the 21st century.

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack, Israel has pummeled the Gaza Strip, displacing the vast majority of the population and causing many to flee to Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. Food is scarce, the UN says famine is approaching and few Palestinians have been able to leave the besieged territory.

Meanwhile, Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel from Gaza, and Hezbollah and other militant groups do so from southern Lebanon, prompting tit-for-tat fighting that has displaced thousands of civilians on both sides of Israel’s borders.

Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the Oct. 7 raid, as well as the bodies of some who died in captivity. And ceasefire talks stretch on with no end in sight.

Here’s a look at the conflict by numbers, which mainly come from the Israeli military and prime minister’s office, the Gaza health ministry, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and Associated Press reporting.

TOTAL DEATHS

Palestinians killed in Gaza: 33,091

Children killed in Gaza: more than 13,000

People killed in Israel: about 1,200

Palestinians killed in the West Bank: 456

People killed in Lebanon: at least 343

CIVILIANS

Civilians killed in Gaza: Gaza’s health ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it says women and children have made up around two-thirds of those killed.

Civilians and foreigners killed in Israel on Oct. 7: 780

First responders killed in Israel on Oct. 7: 62

Civilians killed since Oct. 7 in Israel along its northern border: 9

Civilians killed in Lebanon: At least 50

Aid workers killed in Gaza: 224, including at least 30 killed in the line of duty

Health workers killed in Gaza: 484

Journalists killed in Gaza: At least 95

SOLDIERS/GUNMEN

Fighters killed by Israel in Gaza: more than 13,000, according to the Israeli military

Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza ground offensive: 256

Israeli soldiers killed on Oct. 7: 314

Israeli soldiers killed along Israel’s northern front since Oct. 7: 11

Militants killed in Lebanon: About 280, mostly from Hezbollah

DESTRUCTION/HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN GAZA

Percentage of buildings likely damaged/destroyed: 55.9%

Percentage of homes likely damaged: more than 60%

Percentage of school buildings damaged: 90%

Hospitals that are functioning: 10/36

Palestinian civilians facing “catastrophic” food insecurity, according to the UN: 1.1 million

Percentage of northern Gaza children under age 2 who are acutely malnourished: 31%

Percentage of students out of school: 100%

Mosques damaged: 227

Churches damaged: 3

INJURIES

Palestinians injured in Gaza since Oct. 7: 75,750

Palestinians injured in the West Bank since Oct. 7: 4,750

Israeli soldiers injured since the beginning of the ground offensive: 1,549

Israeli civilians injured on Oct. 7: 4,834

DISPLACEMENT

Palestinians currently displaced in Gaza: 1.7 million (70% of the population)

Israelis currently displaced from border communities: 90,000 (under 1% of the population)

HOSTAGES/PRISONERS

Hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7: 253

Hostages freed: 123

Hostages who are alive or haven’t been confirmed dead: 98, including two who were taken before Oct. 7

Hostages confirmed to have died in Hamas captivity: 36, including two taken before Oct. 7

Palestinian prisoners freed during weeklong pause in fighting: 240

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Arab World

Iraq Farmers Turn to Groundwater to Boost Desert Yield

Iraqi farmer Hadi Saheb says he is cultivating 20 times more land than before in the Najaf desert thanks to groundwater and a government initiative. Qassem al-KAABI / AFP
Iraqi farmer Hadi Saheb says he is cultivating 20 times more land than before in the Najaf desert thanks to groundwater and a government initiative. Qassem al-KAABI / AFP
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Iraq Farmers Turn to Groundwater to Boost Desert Yield

Iraqi farmer Hadi Saheb says he is cultivating 20 times more land than before in the Najaf desert thanks to groundwater and a government initiative. Qassem al-KAABI / AFP
Iraqi farmer Hadi Saheb says he is cultivating 20 times more land than before in the Najaf desert thanks to groundwater and a government initiative. Qassem al-KAABI / AFP

Farmer Hadi Saheb cannot wait to see his wheat fields flourish in the heart of the desert after he tapped into groundwater reserves in water-starved Iraq.

He is just one of many Iraqis who have turned to drilling wells in the desert to help sustain the country's agriculture, AFP said.

It is a risky move that threatens to deplete the groundwater in a nation already battered by frequent drought and scarce rainfall.

Although Iraq's fertile plains traditionally stretch along the once-mighty Tigris and Euphrates -- the two rivers whose levels have plummeted -- Saheb's vast lands lie in the heart of the southern Najaf desert.

"Year after year the drought worsens, and the desertification intensifies," said the 46-year-old, dressed in a white abaya as a duststorm swept through the area.

So he has turned to groundwater, taking advantage of a government initiative.

This leases desert land to farmers at a symbolic price of one dollar per dunum (0.25 hectares in Iraq's measurement), provides subsidized irrigation systems, and buys their harvest at a preferential rate.

Now that he doesn't have to rely solely on rainfall, Saheb said he cultivates 20 times more land than before, and his harvest has increased to 250 tons.

"It would be impossible to continue without groundwater, which we cannot extract without drilling wells," he said.

Like many other farmers, Saheb has upgraded his irrigation techniques.

'Strategic reserve'

He now relies on a center-pivot method involving equipment rotating in a circle to water crops through sprinklers.

This uses at least 50 percent less water than flooding -- the vastly more wasteful traditional way used for millennia, during which the land is submerged.

According to the agriculture ministry, Iraq cultivated 3.1 million dunums (775,000 hectares) this winter using groundwater and modern irrigation systems, while the rivers watered only two million dunums.

In Najaf, desert farming has expanded significantly.

According to Moneim Shahid from Najaf's agriculture authorities, crop yields have been boosted by new irrigation methods, tougher seeds and fertilizers suitable for arid soils.

Shahid said he expects a harvest in Najaf this year of at least 1.7 tons of wheat per dunum in the desert, compared with 1.3 tons in areas irrigated by rivers.

Last year Iraq had a very good harvest, exceeding self-sufficiency with a production of 6.4 million tons of wheat, according to agriculture ministry figures.

Religious institutions such as the Imam Hussein Shrine in the holy city of Karbala back the authorities and also support desert farming.

Qahtan Awaz from the shrine's agriculture department said the institution, which employs families to farm desert areas, is cultivating 1,000 hectares and aims to more than triple that amount.

Today, groundwater reservoirs help mitigate agricultural losses caused by drought, an already frequent phenomenon in Iraq that is worsened by a warming planet.

But preserving those resources is proving to be a challenge.

Shahid from Najaf's agriculture authorities, said "we should be vigilant" in protecting groundwater, calling it "a strategic reserve for future generations".

Its use "should be rationed ... and sprinklers could help regulate consumption", he said.

Depleting supplies

The Najaf desert lies above the Umm el-Radhuma and the Dammam aquifers.

Water levels in both aquifers have declined, according to the United Nations which has also voiced caution that aquifers worldwide are depleting faster than they can be replenished naturally.

Sameh al-Muqdadi, a water politics and climate security expert, warned that Iraq's groundwater levels have already dropped.

Water used to be found 50 or 100 meters deep (165-330 feet), but today wells are dug 300 meters deep, he said.

"People believe that these resources will stay forever... which is not true," Muqdadi warned.

Authorities have no estimates for Iraq's groundwater, and the most recent figures date back to the 1970s, he said.

"If you don't have any estimation, you cannot manage your resources."

"Groundwater is a contingency measure, and it should be used only in urgent cases" such as droughts "to sustain food security only", not to expand farmland for commercial purposes, Muqdadi said.

But unfortunately, "this is what we have nowadays".