Two years on from October 7 attacks, Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 67,000

China

Two years on from October 7 attacks, Palestinian death toll in Gaza tops 67,000

2025-10-08 06:00 Last Updated At：15:57

More than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the two years since fighting erupted on Oct 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages.

Israel's military response to the attacks has devastated the Gaza Strip.

Statistics alone cannot capture the human suffering, but they reveal the scale of catastrophe in the densely populated coastal territory.

Data released on Tuesday by Gaza's health authorities shows that Israeli military operations over the past two years have killed 67,173 Palestinians, including 20,179 children, 10,427 women, and 4,813 elderly people. This is the first time the authorities have published an overall death toll broken down by age and gender.

Before the conflict, Gaza's population was estimated at 2.3 million. This means roughly one in every 33 residents, or about 3 percent of the pre-war population, has been killed. With over 20,000 children among the dead, the figures suggest an average of 28 children have died every day during the past two years.

The health authorities reported that more than 169,000 Palestinians have been injured over the two-year period, equivalent to roughly one in every 14 residents. A World Health Organization assessment released on October 2 found nearly 42,000 people in Gaza living with life-altering injuries, with children accounting for around a quarter of those.

The report said more than 5,000 individuals have undergone amputations. Other severe injuries include limb damage, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and extensive burns.

Gaza's health authorities said on Tuesday that Israeli attacks on medical facilities have forced 25 of the enclave's 38 hospitals out of service. The remaining 13 are only partially operational under dire conditions. Out of 157 primary health centers, 103 have been destroyed, with the remaining 54 operating only partially.

By the end of September, hospital bed occupancy had reached 225 percent, with admissions continuing to rise. The health authorities also reported that 1,701 medical staff have been killed.

A UN report released in August estimated that over 500,000 people in Gaza were facing famine, particularly in Gaza City and surrounding areas in northern Gaza, with famine conditions spreading to central and southern Gaza.

Gaza's health authorities said that over the past two years, 460 people have died from hunger or malnutrition, including 154 children. A total of 51,196 children under five are currently suffering from acute malnutrition.

The health situation for local residents is equally concerning, as the shortage of daily necessities has led to the spread of diseases, along with scarce drinking water resources and limited food.

The child vaccination rate has dropped to 80 percent, and the suspension of the fourth-round polio vaccination -- a key stage in a campaign that began last year -- risks undoing the progress of prior stages and increasing disease transmission.

The UN estimates that approximately 92 percent of all residential buildings in Gaza -- around 436,000 homes -- have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict.

According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people across the Gaza Strip have been displaced during the war. Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more.

China’s tilapia ascends to dining tables of Asia-Pacific countries

High-quality tilapia raised in Maoming City of south China's Guangdong Province now has greater access to dinner tables across the Asia-Pacific, as China deepens trade ties with regional markets.

In Maoming, tilapia ponds cover more than 17,000 hectares, making the city one of the world's major tilapia production hubs.

The city has been developing its tilapia industry for more than six decades, building it into a sector now worth over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars across the entire supply chain. Its products are sold in more than 70 countries and regions, including markets throughout the Asia-Pacific.

Early in the morning, while mist still hangs over the ponds, fish farmers are already out hauling in the catch. "The workers arrived at the pond at around 05:30 this morning. There are 17 people here to pull in the net. There's quite a lot of fish in this net, about 75 tonnes. That's why it's taking longer to haul it in," said Chen Wenqiang, head of the Aquaculture Department of a local agricultural technology company.

Chen belongs to a new generation of aquaculture professionals who emphasize eco-friendly practices to further improve fish quality.

"Fish need beneficial bacteria to keep their digestive systems healthy. Good fish farming starts with good water, so [the pond] also needs probiotics for better water quality. That is why we add probiotics during the fish farming process to improve both the fish's gut health and water quality. This helps keep the fish healthier and enables us to use fewer or no chemical materials, which makes our fish safer to eat," he said.

China is the world's leading tilapia producer and exporter, and much of Maoming's harvest is destined for overseas markets. Once taken from the ponds, the fish are quickly transported to processing plants, where they are sorted, cleaned and filleted before being frozen for shipment.

The latest data shows the city exported 74,000 tonnes of tilapia in the first half of 2026, up more than 51 percent year on year.

The foundation of this large-scale industry lies in high-quality fish fry, whose quality determines growth speed, disease resistance and, ultimately, the quality of the final product that reaches consumers.

"We have been operating for 22 years. We have achieved leading technical capabilities in areas such as selective breeding, nutrition, and land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Furthermore, we have brought together a team of world-class experts, and we currently hold a leading position in the market," said Cai Xingqi, general manager of a local fish fry breeding company.

Maoming's tilapia industry stands as a fine example of food trade between China and other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies. In the first three quarters of 2026, food trade between the two sides reached nearly 120 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for more than half of China's total food trade.