Biden questions deaths in Gaza without proof

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27 October, 2023


On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he had "no confidence" in the accuracy of the casualty figures and death toll that Gaza's health ministry provided for Israel's current and brutal military campaign on the besieged coastal enclave.

The Palestinian Health Ministry responded by publishing a full report on the names of 6,747 victims, including their gender, age, and identity card number. It also highlighted that 281 bodies had not yet been identified.

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The ministry said the US had "brazenly cast doubt on the truth of the announced toll". The UN and other international institutions and experts, as well as the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank - rivals of Hamas who govern the Gaza Strip - say the Gaza health ministry has long made a good-faith effort to account for the dead under the most difficult conditions.

The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israeli airstrikes has since been updated to 7,326*, of which 104 were medical staff.

*These figures were accurate at the time of writing