After more than two years of publicly questioning casualty figures coming out of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces have now accepted the death toll reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health as accurate, according to a report Thursday by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The Gaza Health Ministry’s most recent figures state that 71,667 Gazans have been killed since the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023. That number reflects only those killed directly by Israeli military fire and does not include deaths caused by starvation, disease, or other indirect effects of the prolonged conflict. The ministry also reported that 171,343 people have been wounded by Israeli fire, a figure that represents roughly eight percent of Gaza’s total population.
Haaretz reported that the IDF has now accepted the Hamas-run health ministry’s estimate, while also noting clear limitations in the data. According to the report, the figure does not account for residents who remain missing and are believed to be buried under rubble following months of intense fighting. The ministry’s tally also does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, a distinction Israel has long argued is critical when assessing responsibility for casualties in a war against a terrorist organization embedded among civilians.
Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in October, but Israeli strikes have continued in the months since. Since the ceasefire went into effect, 492 Gazans have been killed in Israeli attacks. Those deaths are included in the overall total reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.
The war began immediately after Hamas launched a large-scale terrorist assault inside Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. During that attack, Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people and kidnapped approximately 250 others, marking one of the deadliest days in Israel’s history. Of those taken hostage, 84 died either during the initial attack or while held in captivity. The final 20 living hostages were released in October 2025.
For much of the conflict, Israeli officials and the IDF openly challenged casualty figures provided by Gaza’s health authorities, citing Hamas’s control of the ministry and the lack of independent verification. The acceptance of the numbers reported by Haaretz signals a shift in how the Israeli military is treating the raw totals, even as questions remain about how the figures should be interpreted.
The Haaretz report emphasized that the IDF’s acceptance of the death toll does not extend to broader conclusions about the makeup of those killed. The figures do not separate civilians from Hamas fighters or other militants, a point that continues to fuel debate both inside Israel and internationally.
Earlier reporting has also raised questions about claims made during the war regarding militant casualties. In August, the Guardian and the Israeli outlet +972 Magazine reported that leaked IDF intelligence data suggested the number of fighters killed by Israeli forces was significantly lower than what Israeli officials had publicly stated at the time. According to those leaked figures, at least 83 percent of Gazans killed since Oct. 7, 2023, were civilians.
Those reports intensified scrutiny of Israel’s military campaign, even as Israeli leaders have consistently argued that Hamas’s tactics — including operating from densely populated civilian areas — contribute directly to civilian deaths. Israel has maintained that its assault on Gaza was launched in response to Hamas’s unprecedented terrorist attack and the ongoing threat posed by the group.
While the IDF’s reported acceptance of the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty count marks a notable development, the figures themselves remain a deeply contentious part of the broader debate over the war’s human cost, its conduct, and its long-term consequences for the region.
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