Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Jan 31: Israel’s military has acknowledged that the death toll compiled by Gaza health authorities is broadly accurate, marking a significant shift after years of officially rejecting the figures as unreliable.
A senior Israeli security official, briefing local 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 estimated the overall toll of the war, having previously released figures only for militants it claimed to have killed.
Gaza health authorities have put the direct death toll at more than 71,660, with at least 10,000 others believed to be buried under rubble from destroyed buildings. For more than two years, Israeli officials and media outlets had dismissed these numbers as propaganda and inaccurate.
The change in stance has prompted renewed scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. A United Nations commission, rights groups and several scholars have accused Israel of committing genocide in the territory, allegations Israel has denied. Israeli daily Haaretz questioned what the belated acceptance of the figures suggested about the credibility of official claims regarding the war.
The Israeli military had earlier said it killed about 22,000 militants in Gaza, implying that more than two-thirds of the roughly 70,000 dead were civilians. While this is lower than the 83 per cent civilian death rate reportedly indicated by a classified Israeli military database, it is significantly higher than the 50 per cent civilian casualty rate previously cited by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to The Times of Israel, the military is still assessing how many of those killed were civilians, but believes the overall toll compiled by Gaza health authorities is largely accurate. A military spokesperson, however, declined to confirm the figures, saying the details published did not reflect official Israel Defense Forces data.
The Palestinian records do not distinguish between fighters and civilians but list most of the dead by name, date of birth and Israeli-issued identity numbers. In previous Gaza conflicts, final death tolls accepted by Israel and international observers, including the UN, broadly matched Palestinian data.
The revelation received limited coverage in Israeli media, with most outlets initially downplaying the briefing. Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the figure in a report on diplomatic talks involving the US and Qatar, while its online platform Ynet published a brief report later in the day.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military also announced that it would reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday, for the first time since Israeli forces seized control of the area in May 2024. Palestinians who left Gaza during the war will be able to apply to return, with the crossing supervised by a European Union force, though Israel will retain full control over entries and exits.
The reopening, part of US efforts to advance a ceasefire plan, will be limited to pedestrian movement and will not ease the severe shortages of food, shelter, medicine and other humanitarian supplies in Gaza.