Highest number of civilian casualties by explosives recorded in 2023, more than any year in over a decade

Last year witnessed the highest number of civilian casualties, killed or injured, by airstrikes, bombs or artillery than any other year for more than a decade, according to an annual study. 

The report by the United Kingdom-based monitoring group said that the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza significantly contributed to this record-high number. 

Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a London-based charity in its annual report recorded a 122 per cent rise in civilian fatalities caused by explosives last year. 

In 2023, according to the report, 33,846 non-combatants had been killed or wounded, the largest number it had counted since it began conducting its annual survey in 2010. 

Notably, the total casualty levels recorded last year exceeded the number witnessed at the height of the Syrian civil war and early stages of the Western campaign against the Islamic State, between 2013 and 2017. During this time, the number of total killed and injured was regularly over 30,000.

“Last year proved to be the most harmful to civilians from explosive violence since our monitor began in 2010,” Iain Overton, the group’s executive director.

Last year, the AOAV also identified at least 7,307 explosive incidents across the world, which is up from 4,322 recorded in 2022. 

There was a 226 per cent rise in the use of air-launched weapons across the world in 2023, according to the London-based charity. 

The report, according to the AOAV, is based on data collected from reputable media organisations. 

AOAV describes the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza as a “major cause for such a dramatic increase” in civilian casualties accounting for around one-third of the global total. 

The UK-based organisation recorded 920 incidents of explosive weapons use in Gaza, resulting in the death of 9,334 people. 

While the staggering rise has mainly been attributed to the Israel-Hamas war, ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Sudan also contributed significantly to the total number of civilian casualties. 

Speaking about the ongoing war in Gaza, Overton noted that since Hamas launched its surprise attack against Israel, on October 7 there had been “a massive spike” in incidents during Israel’s retaliatory attacks. 

He added, “Gaza almost overwhelmed our capacity to record each individual and injurious reported strike.”

The AOAV director also said that the data should be a stark warning to states that using explosive weapons in urban areas disproportionately impacts civilians. 

The report also dubbed Israel as the “most injurious state actor in 2023” with more than 1,000 attacks leading to 12,950 civilian casualties, both killed and injured. Israel’s Swords of Iron operation reportedly accounted for 37 per cent of all civilian casualties last year. 

Israel was followed by Russia with its war in Ukraine causing 8,351 civilian casualties, according to AOAV.