
In a televised address, state-backed Israeli media announced their own estimates of Palestinian casualties for the first time since October 7th.
- Avi Hyman, spokesman for the Israeli government, stated that Israeli Defense Forces, so far, have killed over 14,000 so-called Hamas “terrorists” and around 16,000 civilians used as “human shields.”
- The numbers appear to be a far lower estimate than what has been regularly provided by the Palestinian Health Ministry. At the time of press, their figures estimate more than 35,000 people—mainly women and children —were killed by Israeli strikes, with a total of 24,686 fully identified.
- The official numbers of dead from the conflict have proved to be a months-long debate, with Israel downplaying the carnage amid plausible accusations of genocide. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has regularly taken to social media to accuse those who use the Health Ministry figures of “promoting Hamas propaganda.”
🚨 How many civilian casualties have there been in Gaza?
— Avi Hyman (@AviHyman) May 13, 2024
I clarified our assessment of the figures in today’s press briefing based on recent statements by Prime Minister @netanyahu pic.twitter.com/AX2T6n7sWN
Further context: Spokesman Hyman attacked global media for using figures put out by the Palestinian Health Ministry (PHM), likening their WHO-approved casualty data to “Hamas Propaganda.” He then said that Israel expects all future reporting to conform to these new figures instead.
- “From day one in this war, Hamas has provided statistics to global media who have copied and pasted them as if they were coming from a reliable source,” he said.
- “For the first time in public, the prime minister said that we believe we have killed an excess of 14,000 terrorists, and sadly, around 16,000 civilians,” he continued.
- We would expect everyone to now take these figures as the genuine estimate from a free democratic country that fights in strict accordance with the laws of foreign conflict in one of the most challenging urban warfare scenarios in history. Let me make it clear: every civilian casualty is a tragedy, and that would not have happened if Hamas hadn’t insisted on using their own people as human shields,” he said.

The Conversation: Israel’s sudden decision to post their state-approved casualty figures months into the war, as well as the overall veracity of those figures, caused some controversy on social media, even amongst some Jews.
- “Israel should have been providing its own estimates since the beginning of the war. We are seven months into this war, and you’ve let Hamas propaganda dominate the narrative,” read one comment on X/Twitter.
- “So your total is just less than Hamas MoH. Taking into account the confessions from IDF soldiers that all men of military age are treated as being Hamas, we would have to question your combatant total too,” read another.
- “You are a pathetic coward…You have a twisted and warped ideology. The reason your figures aren’t shared widely is because not even international agencies trust you lot. No free journalism, no access for agencies. Sickening!” Read another.
The Big Picture: As Israel continues to face international pressure for its violent antics in Gaza, laying claim to a lower, more authoritative casualty figure could help the regime in Tel Aviv skirt future accountability.
- In a report from Reuters, World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris said that the WHO “has a long-standing cooperation” with the Palestinian Ministry of Health and, despite Israeli claims, has “good capacity in data collection/analysis” with its previous reporting “considered credible.”
- In January, a historic ruling by the International Criminal Court of Justice determined that there were “plausible” accusations of Genocide levied against Israel. The Jewish state was then mandated to scale back its indiscriminate attacks—referred to by some as a ‘killing machine’—or face criminal consequences.
- Months later, in the wake of rumors that Israeli leaders could soon be hit with arrest warrants via the International Criminal Court, a gang of 12 Republican Senators from the United States penned a “mob-style” threat to the ICC’s chief prosecutor.
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