The Gaza Health Ministry, under Hamas administration, has firmly denied accusations of inflating the Palestinian death toll in the ongoing war with Israel. With over 51,200 deaths reported since October 2023, nearly a third being children, Israeli officials have questioned the credibility of these figures, suggesting they serve as Hamas propaganda.
Zaher al-Wahidi, head of statistics at the ministry, dismissed these allegations, emphasizing that revisions to the casualty list were due to enhanced verification procedures, not intentional manipulation. “Every list goes through further validation,” he said, noting that more than 3,000 names removed from previous tallies were flagged for confirmation—not erased permanently.
Initially, deaths were logged by hospitals through centralized systems, but with infrastructure heavily damaged during the conflict, an online reporting system was introduced in early 2024. Wahidi explained that many names were self-reported by families without full ID documentation, leading to temporary inaccuracies.
The Gaza Health Ministry’s auditing efforts included identifying errors and removing cases of natural deaths or individuals later discovered to be imprisoned in Israel. Bodies still trapped under rubble or yet to be identified—currently about 900—are excluded from the official tally, though efforts are ongoing to document them.
Independent analysts like Professor Mike Spagat of Every Casualty Counts described the latest adjustments as a “clean-up operation,” acknowledging the health ministry’s intent to improve data accuracy. He noted the latest revisions actually increased the percentage of adult males recorded, undercutting claims of inflated women and children figures.
Israel has yet to provide its own verified civilian death statistics from Gaza or directly dispute individual names on the published lists. The conflict, which reignited following Hamas’s cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, has seen over 408 Israeli soldiers killed and persistent civilian casualties on both sides.
Despite growing skepticism, humanitarian organizations and UN agencies continue to cite Gaza’s official figures with attribution. The health ministry maintains that transparency and accuracy remain its guiding principles as the war continues to devastate the enclave.
