Gaza’s ministry of health is misrepresenting the Palestinian casualties sustained since Israel retaliated against the Hamas-led October 7th pogrom.
A new report from a think tank has highlighted inconsistencies between hospital records and statistics issued by the Hamas-controlled health authority. While claims from Gaza that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have deliberately targeted women and children are widespread, the report shows that the IDF has generally managed to avoid disproportionately harming non-combatants, despite the Islamist terror group hiding among civilian populations.
Writing for the Henry Jackson Society, Professors Lewi Stone and Gregory Rose use Gaza hospital records and lists of the deceased to show that, since the start of the conflict, women and children have accounted for 51% of deaths overall—not the more widely (and uncritically) quoted figure. In the past year, the civilian casualty rate has dropped to below that figure. This follows a trend set during the battle for Khan Younis in early 2024, where, although women and children comprised 75% of the local population, they accounted for 34% of deaths.
Of the 11,224 killed since October 2024, 76.3% (8,565) were male. Of these, 58% were fighting-age men. The authors state:
The reduced proportion of women and children casualties indicates increased Israeli avoidance of Gazan civilian harm since Oct 7 2023. This data shows the opposite picture to what one would expect from the narrative of Hamas and its allies, who alleged indiscriminate killing.
This report should challenge those in the European media who seem to embrace Hamas propaganda uncritically.
