No, the IDF Did Not Accept Hamas' Gaza Casualty Figures

Headlines claiming the IDF “accepted” Hamas’ 70,000 death toll stemmed from an anonymous briefing remark—not official data—and were later clarified by the IDF as not reflecting its position, yet the narrative spread globally before the correction.

Hamas’ published figures lump together combatants, civilians, natural deaths, and deaths caused by Hamas itself, with no breakdown—embedding an estimated ~11,000 natural deaths, ~1,000 errors, and ~4,000 internal or misfire-related killings that are routinely attributed to Israel.

Reconstructing the data shows roughly 25,000 Hamas fighters killed and about 36,000 civilians—a civilian-to-combatant ratio of around 1.5:1—undercutting claims of indiscriminate slaughter and revealing how unexamined casualty headlines distort the reality of the war.

— The IDF clarifies that the details published do not reflect official IDF data. Any publication or report on this matter will be released..

IDF disputes Gaza death toll after reports cite Hamas-run Health Ministry figures. After reports cite senior Israeli officials endorsing Palestinian death toll of 70,000, military says number not based on official IDF data and that its own analysis of casualties, distinguishing terrorists from civilians, still underway. Yoav Zitun|01.31.26 |

The IDF pushed back Friday against reports that it had adopted casualty figures provided by Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, saying the widely cited number of 70,000 Palestinians killed in the war is not based on official Israeli data.

The statement follows confusion sparked earlier in the week when senior Israeli defense officials, speaking to local media, appeared to endorse the Palestinian death toll. “We estimate that around 70,000 Gazans have been killed in the war, not including the missing,” officials were quoted as saying. They added that the IDF was in the process of distinguishing between terrorists and non-combatants in its accounting.

For much of the two-year war, Israeli authorities have rejected the casualty numbers published by Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is operated by Hamas officials. However, the remarks by unnamed military sources Thursday raised eyebrows, appearing to mark a shift in the IDF’s position.

Responding to the growing controversy, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s international spokesperson, cited a post by British journalist Piers Morgan criticizing the apparent about-face. Shoshani wrote on X that “the details published do not reflect official IDF data. Any publication or report on this matter will be released through official and orderly channels.” YNET

LTC Nadav Shoshani @LTC_Shoshani:
The IDF clarifies that the details published do not reflect official IDF data.
Any publication or report on this matter will be released through official and orderly channels.
Quote
Piers Morgan
@piersmorgan
·
Jan 29
For over 2yrs, most of my pro-Israel guests have angrily denied the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and said they were wildly exaggerated. Now, the IDF has accepted they’re accurate. x.com/haaretzcom/sta…
Jan 30, 2026
https://x.com/LTC_Shoshani/status/2017124981327507776

Why the IDF should hire a PR firm, not a general - opinion.
Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian of Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, when asked how many Gazans Israel killed, mentioned Hamas’s figure of 70,000 without checking or knowing.
By Gil Hoffman.
Feb 6, 2026.
https://archive.ph/2026.02.06-213547/https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-885645

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