Editing Openai/6941035e-e574-800c-b77c-58298f5c4b70 (section)

=== Assistant: Yes, largely excluded ===
Yes, largely excluded

Yes. The commonly cited Gaza death totals largely exclude indirect deaths such as those caused by disease, starvation, dehydration, or lack of medical care.

Explanation:
# What Gaza Health Ministry counts The Gaza Ministry of Health primarily records direct conflict deaths: - People killed by airstrikes, shelling, gunfire, or related traumatic injuries - Deaths confirmed in hospitals, morgues, or through body recovery It does not systematically include deaths caused indirectly by the collapse of healthcare, malnutrition, infectious disease, or untreated chronic conditions.
# How indirect deaths are treated internationally Indirect deaths are usually captured through: - Excess mortality studies - Retrospective household surveys - Epidemiological modeling These methods require time, access, and post-conflict data and are not part of real-time casualty reporting.
# Statements by international bodies UN agencies, WHO, and humanitarian organisations have repeatedly stated that: - Reported Gaza death tolls reflect confirmed violent deaths - Indirect mortality is expected to be substantial but is not yet quantified in official tallies
# Historical precedent In prior conflicts (Iraq, Yemen, Syria): - Direct war deaths were reported during fighting - Indirect deaths were later found to equal or exceed direct deaths once excess mortality was calculated
# Implication for your earlier calculation The “civilians per tonne” figure: - Uses direct civilian deaths only - Therefore represents a lower bound on total civilian mortality attributable to the war - Would increase if indirect deaths were later included

Bottom line:
Current Gaza death figures overwhelmingly reflect direct killings, not deaths from disease, starvation, or untreated injuries. Indirect deaths are expected to be higher than zero but remain outside the published totals used in the earlier calculation.