Counting the dead is a challenge in any war zone, and doctors in Gaza say the death toll is likely to be significantly higher as it does not include bodies buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings or those not taken to hospitals.
In worldwide conflicts between 2011 and 2021, on average 90% of fatalities were civilians when explosive weapons were used on populated areas, according to the research and advocacy group Action on Armed Violence.
These unguided bombs “can miss their target by up to 30m, which is the difference between hitting a Hamas HQ and an apartment packed with civilians”, says Mr Garlasco, who has worked on three previous wars in Gaza and is now a military adviser for the Dutch peace organisation PAX.
“Entire neighbourhoods, where children used to play and go to school, have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them,” said Adele Khodr, Unicef’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.
By contrast, US-led coalition air and artillery strikes killed fewer than 20 civilians per day, on average, during the four-month offensive to drive IS out of the Syrian city of Raqqa in 2017, according to Amnesty International.
News agency AFP reported that senior Israeli officials had suggested Israel had killed two Palestinian civilians for every one Hamas fighter.
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