"Each of these individuals is more than just a number; each one carries a unique story, a profound tragedy, a home filled with memories, a family left grieving—don’t they deserve to be remembered?"

To understand how it has managed to document tens of thousands of dead in Gaza to a high degree of accuracy, the processes it has used, and the philosophy behind it, Drop Site conducted an interview with Dr. Zaher al-Wahaidi, director of the information center at the Ministry of Health in Gaza who is based at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

The first source is e-Hospital, a computerized program, which monitors all emergency departments in government hospitals. Any casualty brought to a government hospital is registered in the emergency department through the electronic system, and the information is automatically transferred to the repository.

The second source is an Excel file provided by field hospitals that offer emergency services and handle mass casualties, like the Red Cross hospital, the Kuwaiti field hospital and so forth. These hospitals document the casualties in the Excel sheet, which they supply to us; we then process this file and upload it to our system.

A third source was introduced in January – a link provided by the Ministry of Health for reporting martyrs who had not reached ministry hospitals, remained trapped under rubble, or who could not be identified.

DSN: So the number announced by the Ministry of Health, for example, around 41,000 martyrs, could potentially be higher, but this is the figure you were able to confirm?

Dr. Zaher al-Wahaidi Correct. 41,266 martyrs [official ministry of health tally on September 16, 2024], as per the latest report. Bear in mind that the ministry releases multiple figures. The first figure of 41,266 martyrs represents the total number of martyrs who have reached the ministry’s hospitals.