House Passes Democrat’s Amendment to Block State Department From Citing Gaza Health Ministry Death Toll

AP Photo/Fatima Shbair

The House passed an amendment on Thursday to prevent the State Department from using death toll numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry.

The amendment, introduced by Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), was passed in a 269-144 vote with 62 Democrats joining 207 Republicans to back the effort. The amendment is part of a bill to fund the State Department in 2025, but it would also need to make its way through the Senate.

The provision specifically states that funding will not be “made available” for the State Department “to cite statistics obtained from the Gaza Health Ministry.”

The Gaza Health Ministry statistics have been the most widely-cited in counting the death toll in Gaza during Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the strip. According to the Health Ministry, more than 37,000 people have been killed so far, including thousands of women and children. President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials have disputed the exact death toll, but have acknowledged thousands have died.

Other independent bodies, like the World Health Organization, have said the numbers are reliable. Israel, which has not provided its own estimate of the death toll in Gaza, reportedly relies on the numbers provided by the Health Ministry.

Those disputing the statistics provided by the Health Ministry note that Gaza is controlled by Hamas, the terror group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,000 and kidnapping hundreds. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the strikes will not end until Hamas is eliminated.