Israel denies accepting Gaza health ministry death toll

The Israeli military has denied reports that it had accepted figures from Gaza's health ministry showing that more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on the enclave, after Israeli media said the army now viewed the toll as credible.

In a statement posted on social media on Friday, Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said reports claiming the army had accepted the Palestinian death toll "do not reflect official data".

"Any publication or report on this matter will be released through official and orderly channels," Shoshani said.

The denial came a day after Israel's leading Haaretz newspaper reported that the military had accepted the Gaza health ministry's estimate that around 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its onslaught in October 2023.

According to Haaretz, Israeli military officials said they were analysing the data to determine how many of those killed it classifies as combatants or civilians, marking what the paper described as a significant shift after years of Israeli efforts to dismiss Palestinian casualty figures as unreliable.

Gaza's health ministry said on 28 January that at least 71,667 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, including hundreds killed after a ceasefire agreement came into effect in October last year.

The figures do not include those believed to be buried under rubble, or those who have died from starvation, disease or the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system as a result of Israel’s siege and bombardment.

For much of the war, Israeli officials and some Western media outlets have caveated reporting of the death toll by describing Gaza's health ministry as "Hamas-run", despite international organisations, including the United Nations, repeatedly saying the ministry’s figures have historically proven reliable.

The ministry has also reported more than 171,000 Palestinians wounded, meaning more than eight percent of Gaza’s population has been killed or injured.

Several independent studies have suggested the true number of deaths is significantly higher than official figures.

Research published in the medical journal The Lancet in January 2025 estimated that the real toll could be around 40 percent higher due to undercounting amid mass destruction, displacement and the collapse of civil registration systems.

Professor Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway, University of London, has also estimated that more than 75,000 people were likely killed by early 2025, at a time when the official death toll stood at around 45,600.

Human rights experts have repeatedly warned that documented fatalities capture only part of the devastation. In September 2025, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese said some scholars estimate Gaza’s real death toll could reach as high as 680,000, including deaths caused indirectly by hunger, disease and the lack of medical care.

Violence has continued in Gaza despite the ceasefire. On Thursday, two Palestinians were killed in eastern Khan Younis near areas where Israeli forces remain active, according to local medics.

The developments come as Israel and Hamas prepare to move into the second phase of the ceasefire, following the recovery of the body of the final Israeli captive believed to be held in Gaza.

Israel has said it agreed to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, which has largely remained closed since Israeli forces seized control of the Palestinian side in May 2024. However, Israeli officials have sought to impose conditions on its operation, including restrictions that Palestinian officials and rights groups warn could amount to forced displacement.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on 30 January at 17:01 GMT following Israel's denial of the Haaretz report.