US officials acknowledge accuracy of tolls of martyrs in Gaza: WSJ

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Wall Street Journal
11 Nov 2023 02:35

After initially disputing the figures released by health authorities in Gaza, US officials are now beginning to express confidence in the reported numbers.

Palestinians look at the destruction after Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in Khan Younis, Friday, Now. 3, 2023 (AP)

The US intelligence community now expresses increasing confidence in the accuracy of the death toll reports from health authorities in Gaza, according to US officials. This marks a partial shift from the earlier position of the Biden administration during the conflict when they deemed the numbers from Gaza as untrustworthy.

Following the Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which killed hundreds, US President Joe Biden raised doubts about the accuracy of the death toll in Gaza.

Subsequent investigations by Israeli and US intelligence suggested that the explosion was likely the result of "a failed rocket fired by Palestinian militants", and a Wall Street Journal video investigation reached a similar conclusion. “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” Biden said at the time.

During her testimony on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, suggested that the overall death toll in Gaza might be greater than currently reported. She stated, "We think they are very high, frankly, and it could be that they are even higher than are being cited."

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the White House chose not to provide comments on the matter. While the White House and the Pentagon acknowledged that thousands have died in Gaza, they were unable to specify the exact number. The State Department emphasized its inability to independently confirm the reported death toll.

Earlier this month, the Israeli occupation's aggression on Gaza, which started on October 7, has thus far martyred 13,500 people, some of whom are still missing under the rubble but presumed dead, state media in Gaza reported on November 7.

The government media in Gaza said the number of child martyrs in Gaza since the beginning of the aggression has reached 4,237 martyrs, confirming that the occupation has committed 1,071 massacres so far. It said that 1.5 million displaced people are living in shelters, including schools and hospitals.

Regarding the airstrikes carried out by the occupation of Gaza, it was announced that more than 30,000 tons of explosives have been dropped on Gaza since the beginning of the aggression.

The government media in Gaza pointed out that 46% of the martyrs are from the southern areas that the occupation claims are safe, explaining that the occupation exploited the escape of dozens of citizens to talk about opening a humanitarian corridor.