IDF Accepts Gaza Health Ministry’s Death Toll of 71,000

Emilio Morenatti/AP photo

After more than two years of casting doubt on casualty figures reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israel Defense Forces now accepts the tallies as accurate, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday.

The ministry’s latest count indicates that 71,667 Gazans have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023. That figure represents only those Gazans killed directly by Israeli military fire and omits those who died from starvation and disease wrought by the war. The health ministry also reported that 171,343 people have been wounded by Israeli fire, or about eight percent of the population of Gaza.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal in October, and since that time, 492 Gazans have been killed in Israeli strikes. Those deaths are included in the health ministry’s overall tally. The health ministry’s death toll does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

“The IDF has accepted the estimate of the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry that approximately 71,000 Palestinians were killed during the Israel-Gaza war, noting that the number does not include missing residents who are potentially buried under rubble,” Haaretz stated.

Israel’s assault on Gaza began right after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters carried out terrorist attacks in Israel, killing 1,200 people. Hamas also took about 250 Israelis hostage. The last 20 living hostages were released in October 2025. Eighty-four hostages died in the Oct. 7 attacks or in captivity.

In August, the Guardian and the Israeli +972 Magazine reported that data leaked IDF intelligence indicated that the number of fighters killed by the IDF was much lower than Israeli officials publicly claimed. According to the numbers at the time, at least 83% of Gazans killed since Oct. 7, 2023, were civilians.

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