War in Gaza: Hamas is exposed for manipulating casualty figures

Most media outlets report new deaths and injuries in Gaza as a result of anti-terrorist operations carried out by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The problem comes when that information comes exclusively from Hamas-authorized sources, such as the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Government Media Office (GMO). These two organizations are controlled by the terrorist group, according to the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), yet some refuse to acknowledge this evidence.

Hamas releases its figures through Ashraf al Qudra. This doctor acts as spokesperson for the Gaza Ministry of Health and his job is to keep track of how many deaths and injuries have occurred in the Strip. The media and official institutions use the data he provides to inform the public about the number of victims and add them to the global count of casualties.

Institutions such as the United Nations report data nearly identical to what was provided by Hamas

A report published by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy revealed that this is not the first time that institutions such as the International Court of Justice, the United Nations, media outlets around the world and non-governmental organizations have trusted the information provided by Hamas.

In 2008 and 2009, Hamas reported there were a total of 1,380 victims including civilians and terrorists. This was five less than the number reported by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Israel claimed there were 1,166 deaths. The same occurred in 2021 when the Hamas Ministry of Health reported fewer deaths (243) than the OCHA (261). The difference in numbers is a result of the lack of analysis and verification.

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In the ongoing conflict, OCHA has disclosed the data provided by Hamas, as it has done on other occasions, according to the report by The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The U.N. agency has limited itself to incorporating this data into daily casualty updates, which include Israeli and other nationalities' casualties.

On November 10, 2023, Hamas reported that it was no longer able to conduct a daily count. Until then, the terrorist group had been releasing figures sporadically and it was not until December 21 that OCHA revealed that Hamas' method for keeping track of this information was "unknown" and stopped sharing the data.

Hamas is misleading

What is worrying is that the media and official institutions accept or even share the same data provided by Hamas. Some figures are far from the truth. This is even more concerning knowing that the terrorist group tries to distort and even falsify numbers or information related to the conflict that began on October 7.

An example of this is how the terrorists sought to blame the Al Ahli Hospital explosion on the IDF. Hamas said about 500 Palestinians were killed, and has always claimed that Israel was responsible. However, information began to emerge that discredited the terrorists' version of the events. Finally, the IDF revealed that the cause was a failed missile launch from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.

The IDF defended its version by publishing a video that contained footage and recordings of the terrorists talking about the explosion.

The United States refuses to take Hamas' word

Regarding this event, some major media outlets, such as The New York Times, were strongly criticized. Joe Biden called the progressive newspaper "irresponsible" for publishing a story about the explosion with the following title: "Israeli attack kills hundreds in hospital, Palestinians say." Later, the newspaper issued an apology.

The president has stated several times that he does not believe any information that comes from Hamas. In statements collected by the FDD, Biden said: "I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about the death toll." John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, refuses to take Hamas' word for anything. He said that the White House would not release "figures published by an entity run by a terrorist organization."

Finally, it is worth pointing out that while Israel distinguishes civilian and troop fatalities, Hamas does not. On the contrary, it deliberately obscures the data to convey the idea that Israel is carrying out aimless attacks.