UN admits error: Gaza death toll overestimated, women and children nearly 50% fewer Israeli FM urges Guterres to resign

In its recent article, the New York Post revealed a dramatic shift when the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revised its data pertaining to the number of Palestinian casualties in the seven-month-old Gaza war, reducing almost by half the number of women and children it previously said were killed in the hostilities between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas.

According to an infographic published in OCHA’s daily report on May 6, the number of women killed in the fighting was said to be 9,500, while the organisation, which admits to relying on figures from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, claimed that 14,500 children had been killed since the war began on Oct. 7.

Two days later, in its May 8 report, the UN agency appeared to have cut the number nearly in half, showing instead that some 4,959 women and 7,797 children had been killed so far in the war, which began after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists infiltrated southern Israel from Gaza, slaughtering more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking some 240 people hostage.

While the numbers on both sides remain high – the overall death count in Gaza is said by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health to have almost reached 35,000, with more believed to be buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings – the sudden and unexplained change in numbers is alarming.

In reaction to reports, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the resignation of the United Nations Secretary-General in a tweet on X.

“… Anyone who relies on fake data from a terrorist organisation in order to promote blood libels against Israel is antisemitic and supports terrorism.” Adding “Antonio Guterres, resign!”

Situated on the border with Egypt, Israel believes that most of Hamas’ top leadership is hiding in Rafah, shielded by more than 1.4 million civilians, many of whom fled the fighting in other parts of the Palestinian enclave. Israel also believes that many of the remaining 132 hostages are being held there.

Over the weekend, the Israel Defense Forces said it had begun precise military operations in the area of eastern Rafah, after urging more than 300,000 Gazans to move into humanitarian safe zones away from the fighting.

On Sunday, the army said in a statement that its troops operating in Rafah had located and dismantled a number of tunnel shafts and rocket launchers, which were used to fire towards Israel, including the crossing used to transport humanitarian aid into the Strip.