Hamas has been inflating the toll of Palestinians it says have died of malnutrition, and most of these verified to have died had preexisting medical circumstances, Israel’s Coordinator of Authorities Actions within the Territories (COGAT) asserted on Tuesday.
COGAT mentioned Israeli safety officers and medical specialists had performed a assessment of Hamas’s hunger claims in Gaza and located that the fear group has performed “an orchestrated marketing campaign as a part of a broader effort to discredit the State of Israel and obtain political positive factors.”
“The thorough assessment discovered a major hole between the variety of deaths attributed to malnutrition as reported by Hamas’s well being ministry and the circumstances documented and revealed with full figuring out particulars,” COGAT mentioned, together with in media and on social networks.
From the start of the warfare till June 2025, the Hamas-run ministry reported 66 deaths as a result of alleged hunger. Then, in July 2025, it reported over 133 such deaths.
“Regardless of the allegedly excessive dying toll in July, Hamas’s well being ministry didn’t launch the identities of the deceased because it had executed previously,” COGAT charged.
The Protection Ministry physique mentioned that on July 19, Hamas introduced 18 deaths from hunger, and on July 22, one other 15. “Nonetheless, an in-depth assessment of assorted platforms recognized solely a handful of precise circumstances. This discrepancy between the numerical studies and the person publications raises doubts about their credibility,” it mentioned.
Abdulla Abu Zarka, left, a baby reported to be affected by starvation in Gaza, together with his mom and sibling in a photograph circulating on-line in July 2025. (X; utilized in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Regulation)
“The case-by-case evaluation of the revealed deaths reveals that the majority of these allegedly dying from malnutrition had preexisting medical circumstances that led to the deterioration of their well being, unrelated to their dietary standing,” COGAT claimed. “It was additionally discovered that some had even obtained medical therapy in Israel earlier than the warfare. This means that the documented circumstances don’t characterize the situation of the overall inhabitants within the Gaza Strip however somewhat selectively current excessive circumstances involving preexisting sicknesses.”
COGAT famous that in current weeks, pictures circulated on-line of an emaciated four-year-old, Abdullah Hani Muhammad Abu Zarqa, who was claimed to have been affected by hunger. “A COGAT assessment discovered that he suffers from a genetic illness inflicting vitamin and mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis, and bone thinning, a hereditary sickness that additionally affected different relations. It was additional established that 4 months earlier than the outbreak of the warfare, the kid traveled together with his mom, with Israeli approval, to obtain medical therapy at Al-Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem,” the assertion mentioned.
One other case famous by COGAT was that of 27-year-old Karam Khaled Mustafa al-Jamal, who was reported to have died from hunger. “The protection institution decided that Karam had suffered since childhood from muscular dystrophy and partial paralysis, which brought about swallowing difficulties. This was a longstanding medical situation unrelated to the overall dietary scenario in Gaza,” COGAT mentioned.
COGAT mentioned that the assessment, “together with by analyzing broader photographic proof and different accessible intelligence, concluded that there are not any indicators of a widespread malnutrition phenomenon among the many inhabitants in Gaza.”
“The Hamas terrorist group cynically exploits tragic pictures and misuses them for a false and timed propaganda marketing campaign geared toward producing stress and creating damaging public opinion towards the State of Israel,” COGAT mentioned, including that it’ll “proceed working to enhance the humanitarian response within the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the worldwide group, whereas rejecting allegations of famine within the Gaza Strip.”
COGAT didn’t launch the total assessment to the general public.
A Palestinian household eats lentil soup exterior their tent within the Daraj neighborhood in Gaza Metropolis on August 3, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Whereas Israeli officers say a lot of those that died whereas malnourished in Gaza had been affected by preexisting sicknesses, famine specialists say that is typical within the early levels of a starvation disaster.
Israel denies the allegations of widespread hunger and has mentioned it makes efforts to permit enough assist into Gaza. However dealing with heavy worldwide stress, the federal government not too long ago vastly elevated the circulate of provides, after having barred assist altogether for 11 weeks between March and Might.
Israel has endorsed the controversial new Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF) mechanism for its distribution, has blamed Hamas for disrupting meals distribution, and has pointed to a whole lot of vehicles’ value of assist ready inside Gaza to be distributed. The UN has repeatedly claimed that COGAT has refused requests to authorize assortment and distribution, and that harmful and complicated circumstances inside Gaza, together with hungry crowds and gangs, made assist distribution very tough.
The UN — which has refused to work with GHF, saying it violates humanitarian rules — has mentioned greater than 1,000 individuals have been killed close to assist distribution facilities since Might, a lot of them at GHF websites. Israel says these figures are inflated, although it has acknowledged firing “warning pictures” at individuals who approached troops in a way it says endangered them. It has not supplied different numbers.
The warfare in Gaza started on October 7, 2023, when 1000’s of Hamas-led terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing some 1,200 individuals and taking 251 hostages, of whom 49 are nonetheless held, amongst whom 20 are believed to be alive. Hamas can be holding the physique of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.
Companies and Occasions of Israel employees contributed to this report.
