For the first time, Israel has announced its estimated civilian death toll in Gaza, saying that 16,000 have been killed in the war that began on Oct. 7, significantly lower than the approximately 35,000 claimed by Hamas' Ministry of Health.
Israel has officially released its estimate of civilian casualties in the Gaza conflict, stating that approximately 16,000 civilians have been killed since the war began on October 7th. This figure is significantly lower than the approximately 35,000 claimed by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas' Ministry of Health.
Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman told Fox News that for 221 days, his country has been "condemned globally because of a fake and fabricated civilian death toll created and disseminated by Hamas." He accused the United Nations of rubber-stamping Hamas' numbers and becoming a "Hamas newswire to the world."
Hyman emphasized that Israel has set "the new gold standard for urban warfare" with what appears to be the lowest civilian-to-combatant casualty ratios in history. He stated that Israel believes it has killed over 14,000 terrorists and sadly around 16,000 civilians inside the Gaza Strip.
"We would expect everyone to now take these figures as a genuine estimate from a free democratic country that fights in strict accordance with the laws of armed conflict in one of the most challenging urban warfare scenarios in history," he added.
Hyman stressed that every civilian casualty is a tragedy, but it would not have happened if Hamas hadn't insisted on using their own people as human shields. He denounced Hamas' figures as "spitting in the face of our brave heroes who have paid the ultimate price to fight this just and moral war."
The Israeli Defense Forces' own losses in the conflict have risen to 620, according to Hyman. Israel's new estimates come after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs revised its data pertaining to the number of women and children who have died in the war.
However, the World Health Organization on Tuesday said there is "nothing wrong" with the numbers being provided by the Hamas-led Gaza Ministry of Health, according to Reuters.
The Palestinian Authority has accused Israel of war crimes over the high civilian death toll, while the Israeli government has maintained that it has taken all possible measures to minimize civilian casualties.
The conflict in Gaza has been ongoing for months, with both sides launching airstrikes and ground incursions. International efforts to broker a ceasefire have so far failed.
