This began as a protest against war - Netanyahu's non-stop killing of Palestinians and other Arabs, the US-Israeli war in Iran, and the various other wars going on the world, mostly using Western weapons of destruction and death.
But then I looked at other death statistics - worldwide traffic deaths for instance. A lot more people die of vehicle crashes than war. War, however, is intentional destruction and killing while the others, usually, are side effects other other, generally useful, activities. Though one wonders whether the deaths caused by, Elon Musk's cutting of AID funding was just stupid ignorance or intended. His white, South African cultural heritage suggests the possibility that he knew what would happen and he approved.
In any case, the intent was to call attention to the unnecessary deaths all around us, and which the United States plays, if not the main role, certainly a subsidiary role.
And then to remind people that there is something they can do to stop unnecessary deaths. As I wrote, I realized this second part would best be left for a second post.
And so this post sat here in limbo. Well, now I'm bending over backwards and sliding under the stick to finish this and post it.
WAR
Let’s just start with wars. Nothing in depth, just a sampling. Remember each person who dies, civilian or soldier, leaves holes in people’s hearts - parents, children, spouses, siblings, fiancees, life-long friends, work colleagues. Leaves holes in families, at school, at work, in communities.
US-Israeli-Iran War
“As of 2025, Iran's population is around 92 million. In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly.” Wikipedia
The US population when I checked just now was 342 million at Census.gov
“IRAN WAR DEATH TOLL 2026 — LIVE US, IRANIAN & ISRAELI CASUALTIES
Last updated: July 16, 2026 — Day 140 of Operation Epic Fury — Iranian officials say US strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded more than 300 over the past week, while Jordan reports shooting down eight Iranian missiles — Iranian figures remain unverified independently
Total Iran war death toll (verified ranges, as of July 16, 2026 / Day 140): Across all fronts of the 2026 Iran-Israel-US war (Operation Epic Fury), cross-source counts put total deaths at roughly 7,144 to 9,676+ killed and about 46,965 injured (compiled casualty tallies). Iran: 3,468 confirmed by the Foundation of Martyrs, 3,636 documented by HRANA, and up to 6,000+ per US and Israeli estimates, with 15,000 to 26,500 injured. Lebanon: more than 4,000 killed per the Lebanese Health Ministry (which does not distinguish civilians from combatants), including dozens killed in renewed June 19-20 strikes amid repeated ceasefire breakdowns. United States: 13 killed in action and 365+ wounded by official Pentagon count; independent tallies cite 15 killed and 520–543 wounded. Israel: 57 killed. Gulf and other states: Iraq 119+, UAE 13, Kuwait 10, with smaller tolls in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and elsewhere. The US-Iran war is now governed by a signed memorandum (in effect since June 17) with the Strait of Hormuz reopened; the main remaining front is Israel-Lebanon, where a US/Qatar-brokered ceasefire was renewed June 19. Figures are sourced from CENTCOM, the IDF, the Lebanese Health Ministry, Iran's Foundation of Martyrs, HRANA, and verified OSINT; military and civilian counts and source estimates vary widely and are tracked separately. Note: the US-Iran strike cycle continued June 26-28 (US strikes on ~10 Iranian targets; Iran fired drones then ballistic missiles at US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, intercepted with no US casualties). On June 28 the cycle claimed its first death — a Qatari civilian killed by shrapnel from “the military operations witnessed in the region,” with an Arab resident injured (stable). At least one person was also killed in renewed Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon.”
Iranwarlive says it’s independent and AI run.
“IranWarLive is 100% independent and ad-free. There are no corporate backers or state sponsors. However, running state-of-the-art AI models (LLMs) to parse data, alongside the serverless cloud infrastructure that keeps the map updating every 30 minutes, comes with hard monthly costs.”
I’m using it because it is the most current and seems reasonably consistent with other news sites that are three or four months old. The AI part raises some questions though.
Palestine/Israel
Palestinian population in Israel and in Palestinian Territory (Wikipedia)
“Palestine. 5,350,000[1]
– West Bank (Palestine) 3,190,000[1] (of whom 912,879 are registered refugees as of 2024)[2][3][4]
– Gaza Strip (Palestine) 2,170,000 (of whom 1,476,706 are registered refugees as of 2024)[1][5][2][3]
Israel 2,037,000 (2022)[8]”
Israelis (From Wikipedia)
| Nationality | Israelis |
|---|---|
| Major ethnic | |
| Minor ethnic |
|
From Sana: Syrian Arab News Agency
“Occupied Jerusalem, July 16 (SANA) The death toll from Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip has risen to 73,250, with 173,751 people wounded since Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said hospitals across Gaza received four bodies and 28 wounded people over the past 24 hours, adding that many victims remain trapped beneath the rubble or in areas inaccessible to ambulance and civil defense crews.
The ministry said 1,127 Palestinians have been killed and 3,643 wounded since the collapse of the ceasefire on Oct. 10 last year.”
OCHA, stands for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
“Disclaimer: Figures that are yet-to-be verified by the UN are attributed to their source. Casualty numbers have been provided by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Israeli authorities. The fatality breakdowns currently cited are those that the MoH in Gaza has fully identified as of 31 December 2025 out of the higher number of casualties they report. The latest casualty updates are also available on the Health Cluster’s Unified Dashboard.”
Palestinian reported deaths - 73,110; reported Injured - 173,559
Israelis in Israel - 1162. About 1400 reported injuries
Israelis in Gaza. - 474 reported deaths; 3,004 reported injuries
Ukraine-Russia
From Ukrainian Pravda:
“The total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 17 July 2026 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses – ed.]:
approximately 1,425,990 (+1,370) military personnel”
From the Center for Strategic and International Studies (July 2026).
“First, Russian battlefield costs continue to mount, with as many as 450,000 battlefield deaths and 1.4 million casualties between February 2022 and June 2026. These rates are astounding. Russian fatalities in Ukraine are more than four times greater than all U.S. fatalities in all wars combined since World War II, and more than nine times greater than all Soviet and Russian fatalities in all wars combined since World War II.
In addition, Russia’s monthly casualty rates of over 30,000 per month in 2026 have likely exceeded Russia’s recruitment rates of roughly 27,000 new recruits per month. The Russia-Ukraine casualty rate has likely risen to nearly 8:1 in the first half of 2026, up from between 2:1 and 3:1 for much of the war, in large part due to Ukraine’s use of drones—including AI-enabled drones—as part of its aggressive air interdiction campaign.”
Note: These are casualties for Russian soldiers, not all of whom are Russian nationals.
Ukrainian casualties since 2022:
From UN Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights
(Ukrainian) CIVILIAN CASUALTIES SINCE 24 FEBRUARY 2022 = 62,716
deaths = 16,126
Injured = 46,590
From RussiaMatters
“Military casualties (see footnotes for detailed source estimates)
1,000,000 Russian military casualties (killed and wounded), according to a late February 2026 estimate that a highly-informed former high-ranking Western official shared with RM.6
250,000–300,000 Ukrainian military casualties (killed and wounded), according to a late February 2026 estimate that a highly-informed former high-ranking Western official shared with RM.7
Military casualties (see footnotes for detailed source estimates)
1,000,000 Russian military casualties (killed and wounded), according to a late February 2026 estimate that a highly-informed former high-ranking Western official shared with RM.6
250,000–300,000 Ukrainian military casualties (killed and wounded), according to a late February 2026 estimate that a highly-informed former high-ranking Western official shared with RM.7
Civilian fatalities8
Russia: 8,012 “peaceful residents… killed,” according to RF government.
Ukraine: nearly 16,000 civilians killed in Ukraine according to the U.N.”
There are conflicts in various African states, in South America, in Asia which are leaving dead dead bodies and disrupting people’s lives. “Disrupting” - probably is too abstract a word. Devastating, tearing apart, scattering, are some other words. And in a few cases, the loss of an abusive husband perhaps, there is quiet relief.
It's easy to be outraged by the killing of women and children in Gaza, or at the girls' school in Iran. And the civilians in Ukraine. I find myself, rightfully I believe, rooting for Ukraine as they fight to get the invader out of their country. But I also have to remind myself, while watching Ukrainian videos of drones zeroing in on Russian soldiers, that all of those soldiers are also human beings. That many of them were forced to go to fight in Ukraine because their families are poor. A number of the soldiers are even recruited from poor countries and the future soldiers are misled about what they are being recruited for.
It's clear that Putin has no concern for the lives of soldiers fighting for Russia. While I want Ukraine to win, I still have to feel bad for the Russian soldiers being killed for Putin's war.
OTHER CAUSES OF DEATH
While war usually catches the headlines, there are other factors that kill more people:
Traffic deaths
From the World Health Organization:
"Approximately 1.16 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes."
This is a world wide figure. In the US in 2024 it was 39,254
Cuts to USAID funding around the world. - These are harder to quantify. Here's an estimate from a book review of an Into the Wood Chipper by Nicholas Enrich, USAID's Bureau for Global Health in 2025. The review tells us that book explains many programs, what they provided, and how cutting them will impact the people relying on them.
"It was a combination of administrative incompetence and malice, and the book illustrates the grim process by which dull bureaucratic procedures can end up killing human beings en masse. Meetings are held, emails are sent, phone calls are made, and something like 520,000 children die of malnutrition, diarrhea, tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV. As the book goes on, it becomes clear it was more the second explanation rather than the first—DOGE’s destruction of the agency was driven primarily by animosity rather than ignorance."
From Boston University School of Medicine: 124,488 Adults and 537,673 children
“ These estimates reflect excess deaths resulting from the US federal government’s discontinuation of USAID funding. Brooke Nichols’ impact trackers suggest that these deaths will continue to rise if USAID funding is not restored. Credit: Impact Counter.”
NPR reports that the Trump administration says that no children have died because of the cuts.
Oxfam has its own discussion of the impacts of the cuts.
The leading causes of death are illnesses - heart diseases, strokes, cancers, and more. While everyone is going to die one day, better health care, better education, and other preventive measures can eliminate some of these illnesses and give people many more years of life.
This post is mainly aimed at people who are isolated (maybe lucky or privileged are better words) enough that they aren't directly and personally affected by war and other causes of premature death in the US and around the world. To document some of the numbers and personalize some of the deaths.
Step 2
What can you do to help more people live their natural lives? I'll address that in another post, soon, I hope. And when I do I'll link to it here.
Meanwhile, get limber in your thinking and in your efforts to make the world a better place. As they say, each dollar adds up. As does each effort no matter how small.
