How many have been killed? Israel believes “Hamas” (for) now
JVL Introduction
Finally the Israeli military accept the figures of deaths in Gaza provided by the “Hamas run Health Ministry”. One wonders what took them so long and also why now? Is this so they can draw a line and not accept the predicted real numbers, eg by the Lancet as far back as July 2024 that the death rate was likely to already be 186,000. Most research show that the official figure is likely to be a dramatic underestimate. The much maligned Gaza Health Ministry is meticulous in its recordings and marks only those who have been found and identified. As the pulverisation went on, keeping records became difficult in itself. It is clear to many research bodies that many more have been killed who are under the rubble and many others will die from indirect causes, such as those who have been unable to access health care for conditions that are unrelated to the bombing, such as cancer and, of course, those who have frozen to death in flimsy tents or from ‘Wet tent syndrome’ .
Then there is the 41% fall in births in Gaza and ‘Catastrophic birth outcomes’ that threaten a whole generation as further indication of genocide.
Other sources to check are the Max Planck Institute which concludes there has been unprecedented loss of life and life expectancy and other analyses, such as Brown University’s Costs of War Project on Gaza also state that official figures represent a significant undercount.
Here the author takes us through a number of the people and institutions who have refused to accept the figures of the dead. Shame on them all.
LL
This article was originally published by The Intercept on Fri 30 Jan 2026. Read the original here.
Israeli Military Found Gaza Health Ministry Death Toll Was Accurate. Will These Deniers Admit It?
Denial of the Gaza Health Ministry’s death toll helped buoy American support for Israel’s genocide.
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I do wish people would stop claiming that the Lancet in July 2024 said that 186,000 people already had died. It did not.
Rather, a letter published in the Lancet argued: “Armed conflicts have indirect health implications beyond the direct harm from violence. Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases. … Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.”
The sense must be “186,000 deaths over the coming months and years”. Conservatively, that would have been the *eventual* death toll, from direct and indirect causes, even if the war had stopped the day the letter was written. The writers were not suggesting that that was the number already dead.
Im so sick of zionist racism. Whether u like it or not hamas are the government and therefore run the health ministry. No need for yoir speech marks and assumptions of lies when we all know israels propaganda is ALWAYS lies yet no such speech marks for their quotes or genocidal departments.
More on this issue:
https://zeteo.com/p/real-gaza-death-toll-studies-undercount