IDF Accepts Gaza Health Ministry Death Toll of 71,667
Israeli military sources say they accept the Gaza Health Ministry's tally of 71,667 killed since Oct. 7, 2023.
Overview
Senior Israel Defense Forces officials told multiple Israeli outlets that the military accepts the Gaza Health Ministry's tally that 71,667 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023.
The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, reports 71,667 killed and 171,343 injured and says thousands more may be trapped under rubble, according to the ministry's public tallies.
The Israel Defense Forces said it will analyze the data to determine combatant versus civilian deaths, and independent Israeli intelligence assessments have disputed the military's combatant estimates, officials said.
If the Gaza Health Ministry's tally is correct, it would mean more than one in 10 Gazans were killed or wounded, given 71,667 dead and 171,343 injured, the ministry's figures show.
The admission is likely to revive international scrutiny and could affect Phase 2 negotiations of President Donald Trump's peace plan, which include Hamas disarmament, negotiators and analysts said.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources report this story neutrally: they present Hamas-run health ministry figures alongside Israeli caveated acceptance, cite UN and human rights confirmation, and include Israel’s disputed estimates and IDF ratios. Language is factual (e.g., 'declared', 'said'), and the piece notes uncertainty about combatant-versus-civilian breakdown, avoiding loaded editorializing.
Sources (3)
FAQ
The Gaza Health Ministry is run by Hamas. Concerns include reliance on unverified self-reports via Google Docs, media reports, and hospital data, with past revisions removing thousands of entries due to duplicates and errors.[1]
It uses hospital and morgue records, a self-reporting Google Form for families, and reliable media sources, with a verification unit checking data, though challenges like hospital destruction and unidentified bodies persist.[3]
The IDF's acceptance marks a notable admission despite the ministry's Hamas affiliation, allowing analysis of combatant vs. civilian deaths and potentially impacting Trump's Phase 2 peace plan negotiations involving Hamas disarmament.
Sources like UN, WHO, and ACLED consider them generally reliable for totals, using them with caveats; they incorporate them proportionally while noting improvements in non-MoH reporting and IDF combatant claims.[2]
With 71,667 dead and 171,343 injured, it exceeds one in 10 Gazans affected, assuming a pre-war population of around 2.3 million.
History
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