In a recent article published in the “Wall Street Journal,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have suggested that the estimates provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza may be more accurate than previously thought. According to the IDF, between 11,000 to 13,000 Hamas fighters and others were killed during the conflict, with two civilians being killed for every fighter. This translates to a total of 33,000 to 39,000 deaths overall.
Initially, the Israeli government was skeptical of the Palestinian assessments and sources close to the government claimed that the Ministry of Health in Gaza may be subject to political influence from Hamas which could make the data unreliable. There were also questions raised about how the data was segmented by gender and age groups.
However, with new information from the IDF indicating a shift in attitude towards the Palestinian Ministry of Health’s estimates, it seems that the government may be beginning to consider the accuracy of the data. It is crucial that we continue monitoring the situation and gather more information to better understand the true extent of casualties in Gaza Strip.
