A report by the Henry Jackson Society (HJS), a UK-based conservative think tank, alleges that casualty figures from Gaza during the ongoing war have been inflated to portray Israel as deliberately targeting civilians, The Telegraph reported Saturday.
According to the HJS, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry has failed to differentiate between combatants and civilians in its reported death toll, which it claims also includes deaths from natural causes, illnesses and even fatalities predating the war. The report highlights statistical anomalies, such as adult casualties misreported as children, and men listed as women, which it says were later corrected by Gaza authorities.
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Archival: Bodies of Palestinians killed during war in Gaza
(Photo: REUTERS/Doaa Ruqaa)
The think tank argues that these discrepancies create a narrative suggesting civilian populations—particularly women and children—bear the brunt of the war, influencing global sentiment and media coverage. For instance, the report claims some victims killed by failed Hamas rocket launches or internal clashes over humanitarian aid distribution were falsely attributed to Israeli strikes.
One example cited is Ahmed Shdad Halmy Brika, a 17-year-old reportedly shot dead by Hamas gunmen while attempting to retrieve food from a humanitarian aid delivery in December 2023.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry has reported nearly 45,000 deaths since the war began on October 7, 2023, following the terrorist group's unprecedented attack on Israel. By contrast, estimates from Israeli and U.S. military intelligence place the number of Hamas operatives killed at approximately 17,000.
The HJS report also accuses international media outlets, including the BBC, The New York Times and CNN, of uncritically adopting casualty figures provided by Hamas without independent verification. It further criticizes the United Nations for failing to distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties in its reports, claiming this omission skews public perception and policy decisions.
"The omission creates a skewed narrative portraying all casualties as civilian, shaping public opinion and international policy based on incomplete or manipulated data... with Israel accused of ‘genocide’, ‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘crimes against humanity,’” the report says.
The report also highlights alleged efforts to manipulate data to inflate the number of child casualties, citing patterns where victims’ ages were misrepresented compared to records from the Palestinian population registry.
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Responding to The Telegraph’s report, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot dismissed the allegations, calling them an attempt to justify Israeli actions in Gaza. Zomlot emphasized that the casualty figures reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry have been verified by numerous international organizations and UN agencies, including the World Health Organization.
"Numerous international organizations and UN agencies—including the WHO—have not only confirmed these numbers, they’ve made the point that they are severely underestimated," he said.
“Because we don’t how many people are still buried under the rubble or have been killed indirectly as a result of Israel’s targeting of the health sector undermining all healthcare provision, the imposed famine and the wholesale destruction of infrastructure that has left 1.9 million people homeless.”
Torture in Hamas prisons exposed
Meanwhile, the IDF released new footage on Saturday showing Hamas guards abusing Palestinian prisoners in Gaza’s Al-Kateeba prison prior to the outbreak of the war. According to IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the footage, filmed in 2023 by prison security cameras in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood, was uncovered by Israeli forces and the Shin Bet security agency.
“The videos reveal severe abuse by Hamas prison guards, including brutal beatings and the holding of detainees under inhumane conditions that violate basic human rights,” Adraee said.
Footage shared by IDF of Hamas security personnel torturing Palestinians
(Video: IDF)
Adraee identified two Hamas operatives shown in the footage assaulting a prisoner and throwing him down a flight of stairs: Mohammed Mohammed Shaaban Shubaki and Mahmoud Saber Mahmoud Abd al-Aal. Both men reportedly operate within Hamas’ internal security apparatus, which oversees detentions and imprisonment in Gaza.
“Hamas tries to distance itself from the Assad regime and its prison atrocities, but these videos, along with previously exposed torture investigations, leave no doubt—Hamas is no less brutal,” Adraee said.
Last month, the IDF released 46 minutes of similar footage depicting interrogations and torture by Hamas operatives. Al-Kateeba prison, where the latest videos were filmed, has previously drawn condemnation from human rights organizations, accusing Hamas of extrajudicial executions, including of women, in the prison compound.
“The prison guards exposed in these brutal acts can no longer hide or deny their crimes against Gazans,” Adraee said. “The harrowing footage serves as a stark reminder of the relentless abuse, tyranny and human rights violations inflicted on the people of Gaza by the Hamas regime.”