CITIZENS NEWS

Harvard study exposes Israel's genocide in Gaza: 377,000 Palestinians "disappeared"; half are children

By isabelle // 2025-06-24

• A Harvard-linked study reveals Israel has "disappeared" 377,000 Palestinians from Gaza since October 2023—nearly 17% of the population, half of them children.
• The report debunks Israel’s official death toll of 61,000, exposing mass killings, forced displacement, and systematic undercounting.
• U.S.-backed "aid" compounds (GHF) are revealed as deadly traps, funneling civilians into militarized zones where hundreds have been killed.
• Satellite data confirms entire neighborhoods erased, with Gaza’s population collapsing from 2.227 million to 1.85 million.
• The findings align with prior Lancet estimates, warning Gaza’s death toll could surpass 598,000 as Israel’s genocide continues unchecked.

In a bombshell report that confirms what many around the world have long suspected, a Harvard-linked study by Israeli professor Yaakov Garb reveals that Israel has systematically “disappeared” at least 377,000 Palestinians from Gaza since October 2023. This represents nearly 17% of the enclave’s population. Horrifyingly, half of those missing are believed to be children, their lives erased by what can only be described as a calculated genocide. Using data-driven analysis and spatial mapping, the report dismantles Israel’s propaganda machine, proving the official death toll of 61,000 is a grotesque undercount, excluding thousands buried under rubble by relentless bombardment. The findings, published via Harvard Dataverse this month, expose not just mass killing but a deliberate infrastructure of suffering: Israel’s siege has starved Gaza, while its U.S.-backed “aid” operation—the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—functions as a deadly trap, funneling civilians into militarized zones where they are gunned down. This is not war. This is extermination.

Gaza’s population collapse: A genocide by the numbers

Before Israel’s genocidal campaign, Gaza’s population stood at 2.227 million. Today, only 1.85 million remain. The missing 377,000—equivalent to wiping out entire cities—are unaccounted for due to Israel’s blockade, indiscriminate attacks, and forced displacements. While some may be displaced, the staggering gap points to mass casualties far exceeding Israel’s admitted figures. Garb’s report corroborates earlier investigations, including a January 2025 Lancet study estimating Israel undercounted deaths by 41% in the war’s first nine months. Women, children, and the elderly made up 59.1% of the dead. By July 2024, The Lancet warned the toll could eventually reach 598,000. Now, with 377,000 vanished, Gaza’s annihilation is unfolding as predicted. The official death toll of 61,000 is clearly an underestimate, Garb states, noting Israel’s refusal to acknowledge victims crushed under rubble. Satellite imagery and population mapping show entire neighborhoods reduced to graveyards. In Gaza City, only 1 million people remain; 500,000 are trapped in Mawasi, and 350,000 in central Gaza, a patchwork of open-air prisons.

U.S.-backed "aid" compounds are death traps disguised as relief

The report’s most damning indictment targets the GHF, a U.S.-Israeli initiative branded as humanitarian but designed as a tool of control. Garb’s spatial analysis reveals GHF compounds were deliberately placed in Israeli-declared “buffer zones,” forcing Palestinians to risk sniper fire for food. With no safe routes, motorized transport, or basic facilities—no shade, water, or toilets—the sites became killing fields. “These aid compounds seem to reflect a logic of control, not assistance,” Garb writes. “It would be a misnomer to call them ‘humanitarian aid distribution hubs.’” The GHF’s ration system allocating exactly 3.5 days of food per 5.5 people forced families into repeated crossings through militarized corridors. More than 450 Palestinians have been slaughtered near GHF sites since May, with 3,500 wounded. The UN has accused the GHF of enabling forced displacement, noting that four of its five compounds sit south of the Morag corridor—a zone Israeli officials earmarked for mass deportations. “The design and operation of the aid compounds seems likely to be an engine for continuous friction and mishap,” the report concludes. In plain terms: Israel baited civilians into chaos, then massacred them. This is not Israel’s first attempt to mask its crimes. For months, its apologists dismissed Gaza’s health ministry as “Hamas-run,” despite the UN and independent analysts affirming its accuracy. Now, even an Israeli academic’s rigorous data confirms the truth: Israel is erasing Palestinians at a scale unseen in modern history. The GHF’s cruelty mirrors Israel’s broader strategy to suffocate Gaza, then weaponize aid. No crowd management. No dignity. Just starvation and bullets. As Garb notes, the GHF’s architecture guaranteed violence: single entry points, no medical stations, and Israeli snipers perched overhead. When Palestinians inevitably broke under desperation, Israel blamed them for their own deaths. The Harvard report leaves no room for denial. Israel has disappeared 377,000 souls—half children—while the West bankrolls their executioners. The GHF is not relief; it is a slaughterhouse engineered by the U.S. and Israel. If 377,000 vanished in Ukraine or Sudan, Western leaders would invoke Nuremberg. But for Palestinians, silence is complicity. Sources for this article include: X.com TheCradle.co NewArab.com

Israel starvation violence genocide chaos WWIII humanitarian aid Palestinians Gaza