Leaked Israeli intelligence confirms one of many highest civilian tolls in fashionable conflicts.
A categorised Israeli army database exhibits the overwhelming majority of Palestinians killed in Gaza are civilians, in line with a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call.
Figures reviewed by the shops revealed on Thursday point out that, as of Might 2025 – 19 months into Israel’s struggle on Gaza – Israeli army intelligence had listed 8,900 fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as confirmed or “in all probability” useless.
Over the identical interval, Gaza’s well being authorities recorded not less than 53,000 deaths from Israeli assaults, which means that named fighters accounted for simply 17 p.c of these killed, with civilians at about about 83 p.c of the overall loss of life toll.
Battle researchers say that ratio is sort of unparalleled in fashionable warfare. Solely the Rwandan genocide, the 1995 Srebrenica bloodbath, and Russia’s 2022 siege of Mariupol recorded a better civilian loss of life fee, the authors famous.
Rights teams and genocide students argue the findings additional assist claims that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, pointing to mass civilian deaths alongside deliberate hunger.
When requested to remark by The Guardian, +972 Journal, and Native Name, the Israeli army didn’t deny the existence of the intelligence database or the listed figures for Hamas and PIJ casualties.
As an alternative, a spokesperson mentioned “figures offered within the article are incorrect”, however didn’t make clear which numbers had been disputed. The assertion additionally claimed the information does “not replicate the information out there within the [Israeli military’s] programs”, with out explaining what these programs contained.
Israeli politicians and army leaders have lengthy inflated fighter loss of life tolls, at instances claiming as many as 20,000 fighters killed or insisting on a civilian-to-combatant ratio of 1:1 – figures that the report notes they don’t consider in non-public.
In the meantime, Israeli rhetoric has more and more mirrored genocidal language.
In leaked audio recordings aired on Israel’s Channel 12, Aharon Haliva, the previous head of army intelligence, claimed, “The truth that there are already 50,000 useless in Gaza is important and required for future generations.”
He went additional, saying: “For every [victim] on 7 October, 50 Palestinians need to die … There’s no alternative, they want a Nakba once in a while to really feel the results.” The Nakba, or “disaster”, refers back to the killing and ethnic cleaning of Palestinians in 1948 to make means for the creation of Israel.
By March, Gaza’s loss of life toll had reached 50,000; it has since risen to past 62,000, in line with the enclave’s well being ministry. The whole variety of wounded has now exceeded 157,000.
The Worldwide Felony Courtroom has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity dedicated between October 2023 and Might 2024.
