WHO throws weight behind Gaza death figures

Geneva — The World Health Organisation (WHO) voiced full confidence in Gaza ministry of health death toll figures on Tuesday, saying they were actually getting closer to confirming the scale of losses after Israel questioned a change in the numbers.

Last week, Gaza’s health ministry updated its breakdown of the total alleged fatalities of about 35,000 since October 7, saying that about 25,000 of those had so far been fully identified, of whom more than half were women and children.

This sparked allegations from Israel of inaccuracy since Palestinian authorities had previously estimated that more than 70% of those killed were women and children. UN agencies have republished the Palestinian figures, which have since risen above 35,000 dead, citing the source.

“Nothing wrong with the data, the overall data (more than 35,000) are still the same,” said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier at a Geneva media briefing in response to questions about the toll. “The fact we now have 25,000 identified people is a step forward,” he added.

Based on his own extrapolation of the latest Palestinian data, he said that about 60% of victims were women and children, but many bodies buried beneath rubble were likely to fall into those categories when they were eventually identified.

He added that it was “normal” for death tolls to shift in conflicts, recalling that Israel had revised down its own death toll from the October 7 Hamas attacks to 1,200 after checks.

“We’re basically talking about 35,000 people who are dead, and really every life matters, doesn’t it?” Liz Throssel, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said at the same briefing.

Reuters