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The population of Gaza has the lowest life expectancy in the world due to Israel's onslaught, according to a new study.

Research by The Lancet medical journal estimates average life expectancy in the strip plunged by almost half to 40.5 years during the first 12 months of the devastating war.

Before the war, the average Palestinian in Gaza could have expected to live for 75.5 years.

This means that Gaza has by far the lowest life expectancy in the world, 26 years less than Sudan and 18 years less than Somalia, according to the most recent UN figures.

Nigeria currently has the lowest expectancy in the world at 54.5 years.

The study is based on data collected by Gaza's Health Ministry, which estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 48,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023.

The figure rises to more than 61,000 when including the thousands believed to be buried under the rubble.

The life expectancy for males plunged to 35.6 years from 73.6 before the war – a decline of 52%. ÌýFemale life expectancy dropped to 47.5 years from 77.5.

The authors said that study likely understates the true impact of the war on life expectancy because it only includes direct deaths in the analysis.

"Our approach to estimating life expectancy losses in this study is conservative as it ignores the indirect effect of the war on mortality," they wrote.

"Even ignoring this indirect effect, results show that the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip generated a life expectancy loss of more than 30 years during the first 12 months of the war, nearly halving pre-war levels.

"Actual losses are likely to be higher."

Lancet researchers have consistently warned that official figures coming out of Gaza are significant undercounts of the true human cost of the war.

Research published in January estimated that the number of Palestinians killed in the first nine months of the war is around 40% higher than the official death toll.

A separate analysis last year suggested that the death count during the first nine months could be as high as 186,000 when factoring in indirect deaths caused by the war.