The collapse of healthcare infrastructure has left thousands of dead unidentified - with authorities relying on first responders, journalists and bereaved families for information.
During the first months of the war in Gaza, deaths were counted through a network of computers connecting morgues across the territory. It was a system that, in the years beforehand, had won the trust of human rights groups, the UN and the World Health Organisation. But amid repeated Israeli attacks on hospitals and chronic fuel shortages, this system has now effectively collapsed.
Mr al Wahaidi says that his team rely on reports from journalists and first responders to collate reports of deaths not recorded by hospitals. These people are then added to the count of unidentified fatalities. Also included in the count are Palestinians whose bodies are taken by Israel for inspection and later returned, which Mr al Wahaidi says are often unidentifiable. Israel says the purpose of such inspections is to determine whether any Israeli hostages are among the dead.
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