Recent reports, citing anonymous Israeli officials in both AP and AFP, suggest that the IDF believes the Gaza death toll claimed by Hamas is reasonably accurate. According to an unnamed IDF official mentioned by AP, approximately 15,000 Palestinians in Gaza have lost their lives since the war began on October 7, with over 5,000 of these casualties believed to be Hamas terrorists.
The information surfaced during an off-record briefing for foreign journalists conducted by military officials. An unnamed Israeli official quoted by AFP acknowledged the two-to-one ratio of civilian to Hamas casualties, stating, “I’m not saying it’s not bad that we have a ratio of two to one,” and attributing it to Hamas’s use of human shields as part of their “core strategy.”
The official expressed hope for a lower ratio in the future phases of the conflict, particularly in the south where population density has increased. The official emphasized that operations are now more precise in that region.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry has reported a total death toll of around 15,900 in the Strip. These developments underscore the complexity and human cost of the ongoing conflict.
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[…] bombardments followed by a ground invasion. The consequence has been widespread destruction in Gaza, with almost 24,000 Palestinians killed and 60,000 wounded, marking the largest loss of Palestinian life in the […]