CNN –
The Ministry of Health in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has released a report listing the names of more than 6,000 “documented deaths” in Gaza since the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, after US President Joe Biden questioned the reliability of the Palestinian casualty figures had questioned.
The report said 7,028 Palestinians were killed between October 7 and October 26, including 2,913 children, and blamed the deaths on Israeli military “aggression.” It said another 281 bodies had not yet been identified.
The ministry said the actual number of deaths is likely to be much higher than stated in the report. The list of 6,747 names includes the gender, age and ID number of each victim – an apparent attempt to bolster the credibility of the data given challenges from the US and Israel.
On Wednesday, Biden said he had “no confidence” in the department’s casualty numbers. On Thursday, White House spokesman John Kirby called the department “a front for Hamas,” although when asked he did not deny that thousands of Palestinians, including many innocent civilians, had been killed.
The dispute highlights the complexity of reporting the number of deaths in Gaza. Both the ministry in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah in the West Bank publish daily figures on casualties in the besieged enclave.
The Palestinian Authority is led by a rival faction of Hamas, although the umbrella ministry of health has a relationship with the ministry in Gaza.
CNN is unable to independently verify the death toll tabulated in Gaza. But international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO), report figures from the Gaza Ministry. The figures are based on data provided to it by hospitals and emergency services.
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh criticized Biden’s comments and said his West Bank health authority was confident the Gaza figures were accurate.
“There are certain leaders who don’t want to see the reality. They just want to see what happens on the Israeli side. They don’t want to see what’s happening on the Palestinian side,” he said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday.
“The numbers are correct,” he added. “These are our numbers. These figures are sent to us daily by the hospitals in Gaza and are received by our Ministry of Health.”
Last week, Michael Ryan, the executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, told reporters: “We believe that the numbers reported in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories … may not be entirely accurate on a minute-by-minute basis.” “But they are gross.” reflect the extent of the deaths and injuries on both sides of this conflict.”
The figures provided by the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health have not been controversial in the past and have been cited in US State Department reports without reservations as to their accuracy.
But the current conflict has brought international dependence on numbers into greater focus Conflicting claims about the number of people killed in the explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on October 17 have deepened the dispute. The ministry put the final number at 471. An initial assessment by US intelligence indicated that between 100 and 300 people were likely killed in the explosion. Other analysts said the number could be significantly lower, in the double digits, because of the size of the impact crater at the site.
Kirby noted that the ministry initially reported that 500 people had died in what was believed to be an Israeli airstrike.
“So we know that’s not true, and we’ve since found out that the numbers aren’t that high either,” he said. “They didn’t reach 500 – now there were at least a few hundred, and that’s terrible, and that’s cruel, and that’s sad, and we all obviously grieve with the families and loved ones who have been affected by this,” but the numbers are not reliable.”
The Israeli military has also expressed doubts about the casualty figures reported from Gaza, but has provided no evidence that they are exaggerated.
“I don’t have the numbers of people killed in Gaza,” IDF Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told CNN. “When the Hamas agency presents figures, they should be treated with caution.”
Thursday’s report from Gaza said it excluded those who were buried without being taken to hospital, those for whom hospitals were unable to complete registration procedures, and those missing under the rubble, numbering about 1,600 is, many of whom are feared to be dead.