As of the start of the ceasfire on January 19th 2025 the Health Ministry in Gaza reported the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli military action in Gaza had reached at least 46,913 people, including 17,492 children, with more than 110,750 injured and 11,160 missing.
In the illegally occupied West Bank at least 858 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 175 children. More than 6,500 have been injured.
In the last year Israeli forces have killed more than 3,900 people, including 248 children, across Lebanon. At least 16,520 people were wounded in these attacks.
In Israel since 7th October 2023 Israel 1,139 people have been killed and at least 8,730 injured.
90% of the Gazan population have been displaced since the Israeli attack began.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says one in three children under the age of two in northern Gaza are now acutely malnourished, with hospitals in Gaza now reporting children dying of malnutrition and dehydration.
The call for an immediate ceasefire has been the clear majority opinion in the UK and internationally since 7th October 2024, with the political class in the UK and elsewhere sharply at odds with the general public.
An Ipsos poll published on 4 October 2024 found that three out of five people in the UK believe that Israel's military action against the Gazans has gone too far. The poll revealed that "a majority of the UK public consider Israel’s military actions to have gone too far in Gaza (60%). 12% think Israel’s military actions in Gaza are about right, and 6% not far enough".
A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times, published on 6th October 2024 found that found that 44% of UK Labour voters say their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians than the Israelis, with just 10% saying they were more sympathetic to the Israelis. Asked how their views had changed over the last year, 28% of Labour voters said they had become “more sympathetic” towards Palestine, while just 5% said they had become more sympathetic towards Israel. The YouGov poll also showed that 70% of Britons think the Palestinians have a right to a state of their own, with the majority of people in every demographic and voting group in agreement. Just 6% of Britons deny that Palestinians have a right to a state of their own.
A 19th October 2003 YouGov poll showed that 76% of UK adults think there should definitely or probably be a ceasefire now, with only 8% opposing that call. A YouGov poll commissioned by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) conducted on 20-21 December 2023 found that 71% of the British public believe there definitely (48%) or probably (23%) should be an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. Only 12% of people felt that there should definitely not (6%) or probably not (6%) be an immediate ceasefire.
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Donate to Medical Aid for Palestinians and the other human rights organisations working in Gaza to bring critical health needs to those under siege and bombardment.
Verso books has made a number of its publications on Israel/Palestine free to read. These include Illan Pappe's Ten Myths About Israel, that examines the most contested ideas about the origins and identity of the state of Israel.
A useful compilation of videos on the background to the conflict can be accessed here
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Last updated: 09/11/2023