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Gaza Health Ministry Revises War Death Toll, Removes Nearly 2,000 Names
In response to the UN’s accusation of war crimes, Israel released instances from the Gaza Ministry of Health where the falsified fatality records.
i24 News – The Gaza Health Ministry has revised its official war casualty count, removing 1,852 names from the death toll since October.
This adjustment brings the current death toll to 50,609, as reported by a Sky News investigation. The revision follows the discovery of errors, including the inclusion of individuals who died of natural causes or were still alive but imprisoned.
The majority of the corrections—nearly 97%—came from an online form that allowed families to report deaths when bodies were not found. Zaher Al Wahidi, head of statistics at the Gaza Health Ministry, explained that many of the reported deaths were related to natural causes, such as heart attacks or pneumonia, often triggered by the surrounding destruction. “Perhaps they were near an explosion and had a heart attack, or living in [destroyed] houses caused them to get pneumonia or hypothermia,” Al Wahidi said.
This marks the largest revision of the death toll since the start of the conflict. Previously, names submitted through the online form were added to the official list before undergoing judicial review.
Gabriel Epstein, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, emphasized that there is “no reason to believe that the errors are the result of deliberate manipulation.” Of the 1,852 names removed, 41% were men aged 18 to 60, while 59% were women, children, and the elderly.
Professor Michael Spagat, chairman of Every Casualty Counts, a civilian casualty monitoring organization, noted that the revision impacts the accuracy of earlier death toll reports, acknowledging that the quality of previous lists must be downgraded.
Additionally, between August and October, the ministry removed 1,441 names, 54% of which were from hospital records. This error was attributed to staff members mistakenly listing the wrong people as deceased due to a lack of access to the central population register.
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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.
On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.
Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says
FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.
Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.
Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.
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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending
USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.
Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
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