TEHRAN – An official Palestinian report has documented the catastrophic suffering of Palestinians in 2025 at the hands of the Israeli occupation regime. 

The document published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics presents an extremely bleak picture of conditions for Palestinians by the end of 2025, amid the ongoing Israeli aggression that began on October 7, 2023. The report records massive human and demographic losses and a near-total breakdown of vital sectors.

Unprecedented human toll

According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of Palestinians killed exceeded 72,000, with 98% of the deaths occurring in the Gaza Strip. In Gaza alone, the death toll reached 70,942, including tens of thousands of children and women. In addition, more than 171,000 people were injured, and around 11,000 remain missing.

In the occupied West Bank, more than 1,200 Palestinians were killed and thousands were injured as a result of intensified Israeli military invasions and attacks by settlers.

Mass displacement and demographic decline

The report notes that nearly two million Palestinians were internally displaced within the Gaza Strip, while about 100,000 were forced to leave Gaza altogether since the start of the genocide.

Gaza also experienced an unprecedented population decline of 10.6%, bringing the population down to an estimated 2.13 million. 

The report describes this as a “severe demographic hemorrhage” caused by killing, forced displacement, and the sharp deterioration of living conditions.

Palestinians worldwide

The report estimates the total number of Palestinians worldwide at approximately 15.49 million. Of these, about 5.56 million live in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip, 1.86 million in the territories occupied in 1948, and 8.82 million in the diaspora, most of them in Arab countries.

Despite the heavy human losses, Palestinian society remains young in terms of age structure. Population estimates for the end of 2025 indicate that children aged 0–4 make up about 13% of the total population in the State of Palestine, 12% in the West Bank, and 14% in Gaza.

Those under the age of 15 account for around 36% of the population (35% in the West Bank and 39% in Gaza), while people under 30 make up about 64%. By contrast, the proportion of elderly people aged 65 and above does not exceed 4% of the total population.

Collapse of health sector and severe risks for women

The data shows damage or destruction to about 94% of health facilities in the Gaza Strip. Only 19 hospitals remain partially operational, amid severe shortages of hospital beds, medicines, and fuel, while the number of wounded and sick continues to rise.

It also highlights that tens of thousands of pregnant women face serious health risks. More than 70% of Gaza’s population relies on contaminated or unsafe drinking water, leading to widespread disease, especially among children. 

By July 2025, 95% of households were unable to access safe drinking water.

The data further indicate that 96% of families suffer from water insecurity, and 90% report a severe decline in water quality, contributing to the widespread spread of intestinal diseases, particularly among children.

Education under attack and a collapsing Gaza economy

The education sector has suffered extensive destruction. Hundreds of schools and university buildings in Gaza were bombed, while educational institutions in the West Bank were repeatedly raided. 

More than 18,000 students, along with hundreds of teachers and education workers, were killed.

In Gaza, 63 university buildings were completely destroyed, while eight universities in the West Bank were subjected to repeated raids and acts of vandalism.

The report also reveals that Gaza’s economy contracted by 84% compared to 2023 and continued to decline throughout 2025. Unemployment reached 46% across Palestine and 78% in the Gaza Strip, ranking among the highest unemployment rates recorded globally.

The findings of the report highlight a deeper structural problem in the international system: the gap between what international law promises Palestinians and how it is actually applied. 

International humanitarian law is built on clear rules meant to limit heinous, indiscriminate aggression and protect civilians, regardless of who they are. In the case of Palestinians, however, these rules have not functioned as effective restraints. 

Legal principles are repeatedly invoked in abstract terms, yet they fail to produce concrete protection or accountability for the occupation regime, its political and military decision makers. 

This has created a pattern in which large-scale harm to Palestinians is treated as politically complicated rather than legally unacceptable. 

Over time, this weakens the idea that international law is universal, replacing it with an informal hierarchy in which enforcement depends on power, alliances, and strategic interests.

Double standards play a central role in this breakdown. When Palestinian suffering is consistently framed through security narratives, it shifts attention away from legal responsibility and accountability towards the occupying regime despite global outrage. 

Actions that would likely trigger sanctions or arms restrictions instead lead to continued diplomatic engagement by the West and material support. 

This inconsistency sends a clear message: international law is not applied evenly, and some populations are less protected by it than others. For Palestinians, this means that even overwhelming evidence of civilian harm does not translate into meaningful consequences for those responsible. 

For the international system, it erodes credibility, as law appears selective rather than principled.