Israel confirms 70,000 Gazan deaths, disputes starvation claims

The Israel Defence Forces, on Wednesday, January 28, for the first time, officially acknowledged that about 70,000 Gazans were killed during the Israel-Hamas war, while rejecting United Nations claims about the proportion of civilian deaths and denying that any healthy individuals died from starvation.

According to The Jerusalem Post, while international organisations have repeatedly stated that the vast majority of fatalities were civilians, the IDF disputes this assessment, maintaining that roughly 25,000 of those killed were Hamas fighters. The military has also presented data showing that in early 2024, when Hamas was launching large daily barrages of rockets, about 13% of those rockets malfunctioned and fell inside Gaza, killing numerous Palestinians.

The IDF further pointed to periods in which Hamas executed significant numbers of Palestinians it viewed as political rivals, as well as civilians it sought to stop from leaving areas the Israeli military had designated for evacuation. On Thursday, the IDF said it is still working on a more detailed analysis separating civilian and combatant deaths, as well as estimates of those killed by Hamas itself. So far, no Israeli official has provided firm figures on this breakdown.

The military did not indicate when this more comprehensive assessment would be released, suggesting it is unlikely to happen in the near future.

International organisations and some media outlets have estimated that around 450 Palestinians died from starvation. However, the IDF said on Thursday that these figures either rely on false data or include people who already had serious health conditions before the war.

IDF officials cited cases in which humanitarian aid representatives claimed two specific children had died, but the military quickly confirmed that both were still alive. They also referred to several instances where global media outlets showed images of severely ill children whose bodies appeared distorted and who later died, with the IDF later explaining that these children suffered from serious pre-war medical conditions that caused their appearance.

While the IDF has not yet released a full counter-analysis of the UN’s list of alleged starvation deaths, it is expected to present substantial information confidentially to the International Court of Justice on March 12.

More broadly, the IDF said that UN aid workers in Gaza have privately acknowledged that political leadership at their headquarters exaggerated or fabricated reports of food shortages in order to pressure Israel into ending the war sooner. At the same time, Israeli officials admitted that Gaza did experience a food insecurity crisis in July and August 2025, but said they responded quickly by increasing the number of aid trucks entering the territory, preventing a widespread starvation emergency.

According to the IDF, a total of 112,000 aid trucks entered Gaza during the war, delivering about 1.7 million tons of food, along with 1.8 million tents and tarpaulin covers. During this period, 600,000 children received polio vaccinations.

At present, 16 field hospitals are operating in Gaza, and over the course of the conflict, 9,600 tons of medical supplies have been delivered.

In addition, 5,000 international aid workers entered Gaza during the war, while 42,000 Gazans left the territory for third countries for medical treatment or travel using dual citizenship.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories also sent 1,300 food pallets to communities in southern Syria, mainly benefiting Druze Syrians, during the conflict.

Meanwhile, COGAT head Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian is set to leave his position after nearly five years, an unusually long tenure. He will be replaced by Yoram Halevi, a senior former police official.

Some critics have argued that Halevi’s appointment is a political move aimed at limiting professional disagreements with the West Bank administration and Gaza police.

By Tamilla Hasanova