Civilian casualties from bombing or other explosive violence have reached their highest level globally in more than a decade, an annual study has concluded, reflecting the intense bombing of Gaza and Lebanon and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a monitoring group, said 61,353 non-combatants had been killed or wounded during 2024, an increase of 67% on last year, previously the largest amount it had counted since it began its survey in 2010.
Israeli military action accounted for 55% of the total number of civilians recorded as killed or wounded during the year at 33,910, while Russian attacks in Ukraine were the seconded highest cause of death or injury at 19% (11,693).
The other significant conflicts that were picked up by the research were in Sudan and Myanmar, though these together accounted for 8% of the total casualty count – less than half the proportion for Ukraine.
Iain Overton, executive director of AOAV, described the figures as harrowing. “2024 has been a catastrophic year for civilians caught in explosive violence, particularly in Gaza, Ukraine and Lebanon. The international community cannot ignore the scale of harm caused.”
AOAV bases its count on English-language reports of global incidents of explosive violence, and is an undercount of the true numbers of civilians killed and wounded, partly because media accounts in one language are inevitably incomplete.
Nonetheless, the monitoring group’s use of the same methodology since 2010 allows for a comparison of the harm caused by explosives between each year – giving an indication of whether violence is increasing globally or not.
The number of civilians reported as killed globally was up by 51% to 25,116, while the number reported as injured was 81% higher at 36,237. The number of deadly and dangerous incidents studied also increased by 26% to 10,120.
The higher 2024 totals reflect simultaneous major wars fought by Israel against Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Iranian proxies in the Middle East, as well as Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
Gaza was the most affected location and accounted for 39% of all casualties reported in English language media, including 14,435 killed and 9,314 injured, followed by Ukraine and Lebanon. Casualty counts from the Palestinian-run Gaza ministry of health, report that more than 23,600 were killed during 2024, demonstrating that press reports represent an undercount of the likely reality.
Research published in the Lancet earlier this month estimated that the death toll in Gaza during the first nine months of the Israel-Hamas war was about 40% higher than numbers recorded by the Palestinian territory’s health ministry.
Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties. “No other army in the world has ever taken such wide-ranging measures,” an official responding to the Lancet report said. “The figures provided in this report do not reflect the situation on the ground.”
Airstrikes were the principal cause of death and injury according to the AOAV study, with the number of casualties doubling to 30,804, reflecting Israel’s heavy use of air power. Missiles, used heavily by Russia against targets in Ukraine, increased by 46% over the past year.
Previous annual highs were recorded at the height of the Syrian civil war and during the early campaign against Islamic State, between 2013 and 2017, but at less than half last year’s level. Explosive violence includes death or injury from airstrikes, artillery attacks or other bombs. Casualties from shootings and stabbings are not counted.
