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New Report Proves Gaza Casualty Numbers Are a Lie — the Media Still Reports Them

People demonstrate in the city of Santander, Spain, under the motto ‘Let’s stop the genocide in Gaza,’ on Jan. 20, 2024. Photo: Joaquin Gomez Sastre/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect
A new report by the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) reveals what has been obvious all along: The death toll provided by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza does not add up.
Despite the Palestinian casualty figures being disputed by Israel, this hasn’t stopped most mainstream media outlets from treating them with barely deserved credibility.
The HJS report analyzed a collection of 1,378 articles published by leading English-language newspapers and media outlets, specifically The New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Associated Press, and the Australian ABC.
The findings are staggering:
- 84% of the publications analyzed failed to make the critical distinction in total numbers between combatant deaths and civilian deaths.
- In 19% of the publications analyzed, the numbers of fatalities provided by Hamas-run institutions were used without citing any source, thereby suggesting those figures were undisputed.
- A mere 5% of outlets cited the casualty statistics provided by Israel; 98% cited figures by the Hamas-run MoH. The Israeli figures were questioned in half of the articles that cited them, whereas the Hamas figures were often taken at face value.
- Men were recorded in fatality lists as female when the same individual was reported as a male in the Palestinian Population Registry. Similarly, the ages of several fatalities have been found to be inaccurate — men in their twenties or thirties are reported as children and babies, skewing the reported number of women and children killed.
- There is a disproportionate number of young men of fighting age listed among the casualties. There is no differentiation between civilians and Hamas combatants.
- The figures reported by the Hamas-run MoH include those who died of natural causes.
These results underscore a clear pattern of Hamas systematically influencing the media’s perception of the war.
Chapter 6 is the work of the amazing Tania Glezer from https://t.co/hAEdhFrjhb and the International Institute for Social and Legal Studies.
They show the shocking imbalance in global media reporting on this conflict.
The West’s media has taken the conscious decision to… pic.twitter.com/2IHHrlpdJp
— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) December 15, 2024
This is not the first time the death toll in Gaza has been inflated by Hamas. Hamas has striven to influence the media’s perception of its wars with Israel since at least 2009, aligning with the terror organization’s broader objective of influencing international opinion to garner sympathy and condemnation of Israeli actions.
In past wars between Israel and Hamas, Hamas has issued guidelines that call on Palestinians to consider all casualties to be “innocent civilians.”
However, these “innocent civilians” are frequently found to have connections with Hamas or other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.
𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐯𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲:#Palestinian media claim that Israel mercilessly killed 36 Palestinians. But these channels have whitewashed terrorists, removed context, & attempted to portray them as innocent civilians. pic.twitter.com/c7lU3QBX6o
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) February 6, 2023
How many news outlets will acknowledge the HJS report, or even cover it in their own stories?
Sadly we know the answer, because doing so would require them to admit to using inaccurate death tolls provided by Hamas. When Hamas has quietly revised the number of casualties, the media have turned the other way. What better way to villainize Israel while avoiding accountability for propagating false information provided by a terrorist organization?
This has had serious implications in media reporting of casualty numbers in recent months ,as outlets have claimed 70% of casualties in the war are women and children.
Not only were these reports using statistics with misleading sample sizes, but the added findings provided by the HJS report indicate that the misclassification of men as women, as well as other inaccuracies in casualty data from Hamas-run institutions, have further distorted these figures.
Chapter 2 deals with the age breakdown of demographics in much more detail and highlights numerous obvious errors.
This chapter allows you to comprehensively rebut the idea that Israel is targeting women and children.
3/9 pic.twitter.com/ySlUNZ0d9N
— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) December 15, 2024
Andrew Fox, the author of the report asserted “This misclassification contributes to the narrative that civilian populations, particularly women and children, bear the brunt of the conflict, potentially influencing sentiment and media coverage.”
It is undeniable that the casualty figures provided by Hamas are inaccurate and should not be relied on by any media outlet. Nonetheless, when asked for a response to the report by The Telegraph, the BBC claimed, “It is challenging to report accurately on the death toll in Gaza as Israel does not allow independent access to international journalists.”
Yet, the BBC does have correspondents in Gaza. Is the BBC acknowledging that it cannot trust its correspondents in Gaza to report on the war accurately or impartially? Perhaps BBC media workers in Gaza could investigate the casualty figures but that would necessitate the BBC having to publicly state that there is no press freedom in Gaza due to Hamas influence and control.
Claiming that Israel does not allow independent access to international journalists is no excuse for parroting Hamas casualty figures.
Is @BBCNews admitting that its correspondents in Gaza are not impartial or capable of investigating for themselves? pic.twitter.com/Qocbj01tA5
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) December 14, 2024
Hamas has enticed the media to push out a lie so extravagantly crafted that admitting the truth now after more than a year of war would cause embarrassment to the outlets that took a terrorist organization’s claims at face value.
If Hamas’ own casualty figures don’t add up, neither do the media narratives that echo them.
Born in Toronto, Sharon Levy moved to Israel in October 2023 and has held various roles in Israel advocacy and research institutions. Sharon has a Masters degree in Government with a specialization in Counterterrorism and Cyber Security from Reichman University. The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post New Report Proves Gaza Casualty Numbers Are a Lie — the Media Still Reports Them first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Warns Against Cooperation with US Relief Efforts In Bid to Restore Grip on Gaza

Hamas terrorists carry grenade launchers at the funeral of Marwan Issa, a senior Hamas deputy military commander who was killed in an Israeli airstrike during the conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza has warned residents not to cooperate with the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, as the terror group seeks to reassert its grip on the enclave amid mounting international pressure to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
“It is strictly forbidden to deal with, work for, or provide any form of assistance or cover to the American organization (GHF) or its local or foreign agents,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
“Legal action will be taken against anyone proven to be involved in cooperation with this organization, including the imposition of the maximum penalties stipulated in the applicable national laws,” the statement warns.
The GHF released a statement in response to Hamas’ warnings, saying the organization has delivered millions of meals “safely and without interference.”
“This statement from the Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry confirms what we’ve known all along: Hamas is losing control,” the GHF said.
The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May, implementing a new aid delivery model aimed at preventing the diversion of supplies by Hamas, as Israel continues its defensive military campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group.
The initiative has drawn criticism from the UN and international organizations, some of which have claimed that Jerusalem is causing starvation in the war-torn enclave.
Israel has vehemently denied such accusations, noting that, until its recently imposed blockade, it had provided significant humanitarian aid in the enclave throughout the war.
Israeli officials have also said much of the aid that flows into Gaza is stolen by Hamas, which uses it for terrorist operations and sells the rest at high prices to Gazan civilians.
According to their reports, the organization has delivered over 56 million meals to Palestinians in just one month.
Hamas’s latest threat comes amid growing international pressure to accept a US-backed ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump, which sets a 60-day timeline to finalize the details leading to a full resolution of the conflict.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalize a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, though Israel has not confirmed this claim.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with Trump next week in Washington, DC — his third visit in less than six months — as they work to finalize the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Even though Trump hasn’t provided details on the proposed truce, he said Washington would “work with all parties to end the war” during the 60-day period.
“I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,” he wrote in a social media post.
Since the start of the war, ceasefire talks between Jerusalem and Hamas have repeatedly failed to yield enduring results.
Israeli officials have previously said they will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and goes into exile — a demand the terror group has firmly rejected.
“I am telling you — there will be no Hamas,” Netanyahu said during a speech Wednesday.
For its part, Hamas has said it is willing to release the remaining 50 hostages — fewer than half of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
While the terrorist group said it is “ready and serious” to reach a deal that would end the war, it has yet to accept this latest proposal.
In a statement, the group said it aims to reach an agreement that “guarantees an end to the aggression, the withdrawal [of Israeli forces], and urgent relief for our people in the Gaza Strip.”
According to media reports, the proposed 60-day ceasefire would include a partial Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a surge in humanitarian aid, and the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, with US and mediator assurances on advancing talks to end the war — though it remains unclear how many hostages would be freed.
For Israel, the key to any deal is the release of most, if not all, hostages still held in Gaza, as well as the disarmament of Hamas, while the terror group is seeking assurances to end the war as it tries to reassert control over the war-torn enclave.
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UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest

Police block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather to protest British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
British lawmakers voted Wednesday to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, following the group’s recent vandalizing of two military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in protest of the government’s support for Israel.
Last month, members of the UK-based anti-Israel group Palestine Action broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, a county west of London, and vandalized two Voyager aircraft used for military transport and refueling — the latest in a series of destructive acts carried out by the organization.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems as well as other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza in 2023.
Under British law, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has the authority to ban an organization if it is believed to commit, promote, or otherwise be involved in acts of terrorism.
Passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 385 to 26 in the lower chamber — the House of Commons — the measure is now set to be reviewed by the upper chamber, the House of Lords, on Thursday.
If approved, the ban would take effect within days, making it a crime to belong to or support Palestine Action and placing the group on the same legal footing as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State under UK law.
Palestine Action, which claims that Britain is an “active participant” in the Gaza conflict due to its military support for Israel, condemned the ban as “an unhinged reaction” and announced plans to challenge it in court — similar to the legal challenges currently being mounted by Hamas.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, belonging to a proscribed group is a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison or a fine, while wearing clothing or displaying items supporting such a group can lead to up to six months in prison and/or a fine of up to £5,000.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for the recent attack, in which two of its activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft and used crowbars to inflict additional damage.
According to the group, the red paint — also sprayed across the runway — was meant to symbolize “Palestinian bloodshed.” A Palestine Liberation Organization flag was also left at the scene.
On Thursday, local authorities arrested four members of the group, aged between 22 and 35, who were charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, as well as conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Palestine Action said this latest attack was carried out as a protest against the planes’ role in supporting what the group called Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
At the time of the attack, Cooper condemned the group’s actions, stating that their behavior had grown increasingly aggressive and resulted in millions of pounds in damages.
“The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton … is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,” Cooper said in a written statement.
“The UK’s defense enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she continued.
The post UK Lawmakers Move to Designate Palestine Action as Terrorist Group Following RAF Vandalism Protest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.