Israel’s military has accepted that the death toll compiled by Gaza’s health authorities is broadly accurate, marking a significant U-turn after years of dismissing the figures as “Hamas propaganda”.
A senior Israeli security official, briefing journalists, said around 70,000 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 2023, excluding those still missing. This is the first time Israel has publicly provided an overall estimate of the war’s death toll.
Previously, Israeli officials had only released figures for militants they claimed to have killed. Gaza health authorities say at least 71,660 people have died in direct Israeli attacks, with more than 10,000 others believed to be buried under rubble.
For more than two years, Israeli officials and much of the country’s media repeatedly questioned the reliability of Palestinian casualty figures, branding them inaccurate or politically motivated.
The shift has prompted renewed scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. A UN commission, human rights organisations and legal scholars have accused Israel of committing genocide in the territory.
“What other accusations could turn out to be true?” asked the Israeli newspaper Haaretz following the briefing. “The Israeli public must ask what this belated recognition says about the credibility of the army and the government.”
The admission also highlights the scale of civilian casualties. The Israeli military previously said it had killed about 22,000 militants, suggesting that more than two-thirds of those killed were civilians by Israel’s own estimate.
This figure is lower than the 83% civilian death rate indicated in a classified Israeli military database, but significantly higher than the 50% previously cited by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to The Times of Israel, the military is still assessing the civilian-combatant breakdown but considers the overall Gaza health ministry figures “largely accurate”. An IDF spokesperson declined to confirm the estimate, saying the figures cited “do not reflect official IDF data”.
The Gaza health database does not distinguish between fighters and civilians but lists most victims by name, date of birth and Israeli-issued identity numbers. In previous Gaza conflicts, final casualty figures later accepted by Israel and the UN broadly matched Palestinian records.
Despite the significance of the admission, Israeli media coverage was limited. While major outlets attended the briefing, only Haaretz prominently reported the revised death toll. Yedioth Ahronoth mentioned the figure in a report on diplomatic talks involving the US and Qatar, quoting an official as saying roughly 70,000 Gazans had been killed, excluding the missing.
Separately, the Israeli military said it would reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday for the first time since seizing control of the border area in May 2024. Palestinians who left Gaza would be allowed to apply to return, under supervision by a European Union force, though Israel would retain full control over entry and exit.
The crossing will be open only to pedestrians and will not ease severe shortages of food, shelter, medicine and humanitarian aid. The move is seen as part of US efforts to advance former president Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan into a second phase.
Source: The Guardian