How Reliable Are Gaza Health Ministry's Death Numbers
2023-11-07
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1The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that more than 10,000 Palestinians have died in the current conflict with Israel.
2The agency, however, does not differentiate the number of deaths as civilians or combatants.
3The conflict began after October 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel.
4They killed at least 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians. Hamas also kidnapped an estimated 240 people.
5Israel has answered with airstrikes that it says target militants in the territory.
6Last week, Israeli military forces entered northern Gaza intending to drive Hamas militants from power.
7Experts expect the number of deaths will rise as street fighting starts in the heavily populated area.
8Since foreign reporters and independent organizations are barred from Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry is the only official source for casualties in the territory.
9The United Nations and other international organizations said the ministry has made a good-faith effort to count the number of deaths under difficult conditions.
10Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization said that the ministry's numbers might not be "perfectly accurate."
11But he added, "They largely reflect the level of death and injury."
12The recent explosion at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza showed how difficult it was to estimate the cause and the number of deaths in the conflict.
13Hamas militants blamed an Israeli airstrike for the explosion.
14Gaza's Health Ministry first reported 200 to 300 deaths in the explosion.
15Half an hour later, the agency revised the number to 500.
16The following day, it changed the number to 471.
17Israel, the United States and French officials, however, said the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket.
18And American intelligence estimates the number of deaths at the hospital parking area to have been between 100 and 300.
19The Health Ministry says it receives a flow of data from every hospital in the territory.
20Hospital officials in Gaza told The Associated Press (AP) that they keep records of every wounded person and every dead.
21And they enter the information in a computerized system shared with the ministry.
22Ashraf al-Qidra is a spokesperson for the ministry.
23He said when the flow of information is broken because of internet connection or electricity, the agency calls the hospitals to get numbers.
24The agency also collects data from other sources, including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
25Last week, the ministry released a 212-page report listing every Palestinian killed in the war so far, including their names, identification numbers, ages and gender.
26A copy of the report, shared with the AP, names 6,747 Palestinians and says an additional 281 bodies have not yet been identified.
27The list does not say where a person was killed.
28It also does not differentiate between civilians and fighters or say how they were killed - whether from Israeli airstrikes or Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of "Israeli aggression."
29Lt. Col. Richard Hecht is an Israeli military spokesman.
30He said of the report, "When the Hamas health agency comes out with the numbers, take it with a pinch of salt."
31In other words, he dismissed the report as something unlikely to be truthful.
32But he repeatedly refused to state the number of Palestinian deaths.
33International news agencies, humanitarian workers and rights groups have often used the ministry's numbers when an independent source is not available.
34"These figures are professionally done and have proven to be reliable," said Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine director.
35He noted that the numbers do not differentiate between civilians' and fighters' deaths.
36After the conflict, the U.N. humanitarian office usually publishes final numbers on deaths based on its research into medical records.
37In many cases, the U.N.'s counts have been fairly close to the Gaza Health Ministry's numbers.
38After the 2008 war, the ministry reported 1,440 Palestinians killed; the U.N. reported 1,385.
39In the 2014 war, the ministry reported 2,310 Palestinians killed; the U.N. reported 2,251.
40And in the 2021 war, the ministry reported 260 Palestinians killed; the U.N. reported 256.
41I'm Dan Friedell.
1The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday that more than 10,000 Palestinians have died in the current conflict with Israel. The agency, however, does not differentiate the number of deaths as civilians or combatants. 2The conflict began after October 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel. They killed at least 1,400 Israelis, most of them civilians. Hamas also kidnapped an estimated 240 people. 3Israel has answered with airstrikes that it says target militants in the territory. Last week, Israeli military forces entered northern Gaza intending to drive Hamas militants from power. Experts expect the number of deaths will rise as street fighting starts in the heavily populated area. 4Since foreign reporters and independent organizations are barred from Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry is the only official source for casualties in the territory. The United Nations and other international organizations said the ministry has made a good-faith effort to count the number of deaths under difficult conditions. 5Michael Ryan of the World Health Organization said that the ministry's numbers might not be "perfectly accurate." But he added, "They largely reflect the level of death and injury." 6The recent explosion at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza showed how difficult it was to estimate the cause and the number of deaths in the conflict. 7Hamas militants blamed an Israeli airstrike for the explosion. Gaza's Health Ministry first reported 200 to 300 deaths in the explosion. Half an hour later, the agency revised the number to 500. The following day, it changed the number to 471. 8Israel, the United States and French officials, however, said the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket. And American intelligence estimates the number of deaths at the hospital parking area to have been between 100 and 300. 9How Does Gaza's Health Ministry Count the Numbers? 10The Health Ministry says it receives a flow of data from every hospital in the territory. 11Hospital officials in Gaza told The Associated Press (AP) that they keep records of every wounded person and every dead. And they enter the information in a computerized system shared with the ministry. 12Ashraf al-Qidra is a spokesperson for the ministry. He said when the flow of information is broken because of internet connection or electricity, the agency calls the hospitals to get numbers. The agency also collects data from other sources, including the Palestinian Red Crescent. 13Last week, the ministry released a 212-page report listing every Palestinian killed in the war so far, including their names, identification numbers, ages and gender. A copy of the report, shared with the AP, names 6,747 Palestinians and says an additional 281 bodies have not yet been identified. 14The list does not say where a person was killed. It also does not differentiate between civilians and fighters or say how they were killed - whether from Israeli airstrikes or Palestinian rocket fire. It describes all casualties as victims of "Israeli aggression." 15Lt. Col. Richard Hecht is an Israeli military spokesman. He said of the report, "When the Hamas health agency comes out with the numbers, take it with a pinch of salt." In other words, he dismissed the report as something unlikely to be truthful. But he repeatedly refused to state the number of Palestinian deaths. 16How reliable are Gaza's numbers? 17International news agencies, humanitarian workers and rights groups have often used the ministry's numbers when an independent source is not available. 18"These figures are professionally done and have proven to be reliable," said Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch's Israel and Palestine director. He noted that the numbers do not differentiate between civilians' and fighters' deaths. 19After the conflict, the U.N. humanitarian office usually publishes final numbers on deaths based on its research into medical records. In many cases, the U.N.'s counts have been fairly close to the Gaza Health Ministry's numbers. 20After the 2008 war, the ministry reported 1,440 Palestinians killed; the U.N. reported 1,385. 21In the 2014 war, the ministry reported 2,310 Palestinians killed; the U.N. reported 2,251. 22And in the 2021 war, the ministry reported 260 Palestinians killed; the U.N. reported 256. 23I'm Dan Friedell. 24Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on reporting by VOA, The Associated Press and Reuters. 25______________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27casualty - n. a person who is hurt or killed during a war, accident,.. 28good-faith - n. an honest and proper way 29accurate - adj. free from mistake or error 30reflect - v. to show or make known 31reliable - adj. able to trust or to be believed