Hamas quietly slashes Gaza death toll amid latest Israeli offensive
Hamas has recently revised its casualty figures from the Gaza war, revealing that a significant number of names have been removed from its official list of war fatalities. This revelation comes after a detailed analysis conducted by Salo Aizenberg from the U.S.-based nonprofit HonestReporting, who discovered that 3,400 names, including over 1,080 children, were removed from Hamas’ March 2025 report, despite being listed in 2024.
The analysis also highlighted that 72% of those killed were men aged 13 to 55, a demographic largely composed of combatants. This contradicts Hamas’ earlier claims that most casualties were women and children, as originally reported by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health. These falsified numbers were widely cited by major international organizations, such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
David Adesnik, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, further corroborated the findings, revealing a significant gender imbalance in the casualties. His analysis showed that the number of male casualties far exceeded female casualties across all age groups, indicating a disproportionately high number of male combatant deaths.
Adesnik also pointed out discrepancies in how deaths were recorded, with significant numbers of names being removed from the list over time. Hamas maintains two lists for confirmed deaths by hospitals and reported deaths by family members through an online form. However, many of the family-reported names were found to be inaccurate or unverified, prompting officials to quietly remove them from the count.
Zaher Al Wahidi, the head of the statistics team at Gaza’s health ministry, explained that names submitted via the online form were removed as a precautionary measure pending a judicial investigation into each one. Some families may have submitted false claims in hopes of receiving government financial assistance.
The debate over casualty accuracy intensified following an Israeli strike on March 23 that killed 15 humanitarian workers, including a paramedic. While the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent condemned the incident, the Israeli military stated that the aid workers were mistakenly identified as terrorists. The incident occurred during a covert IDF operation and is currently under investigation.
In a related development, the IDF announced the targeted killing of Mohammed Saleh Mohammed Al-Bardawil, a senior Hamas terror leader involved in producing propaganda videos. Despite being referred to as a journalist in Gaza, Bardawil was actively engaged in Hamas’ activities. The IDF reiterated its commitment to targeting and dismantling Hamas’ infrastructure to protect Israeli civilians, emphasizing that it does not deliberately target children.
Overall, the revised casualty figures shed light on the demographic breakdown of casualties in the Gaza war and support the IDF’s claim of targeting combatants. As investigations continue into the accuracy of casualty counts and incidents during the conflict, the need for transparency and accountability remains paramount.
