Israel criticized new research on the scale of losses in Gaza.

Israel criticized the results of a study by British researchers regarding the number of deaths in Gaza, published in the medical journal The Lancet.

The Israeli Embassy in London expressed its criticism regarding the study conducted in the journal The Lancet, claiming that the journal has an anti-Israeli bias and that the source of information from Gaza is questionable, thus the results of its study cannot be considered reliable.

Israel urges readers to be critical of the original information sources and condemns the spread of disinformation about Israel, which leads to an increase in antisemitism and support for Hamas.

The Lancet Study

In the study published in The Lancet, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine claims that the number of deaths in Gaza during the war initiated by Hamas exceeds the official data from the Hamas Ministry of Health.

According to the study, over 64,000 Palestinians died between October 2023 and June 2024, which is a significant number compared to the official data from the Hamas Ministry of Health.

The Hamas Ministry of Health has underestimated these numbers by 41% and intentionally inflated the death toll.

Researchers also noted that the majority of the deceased are women, children, and the elderly, and it is difficult to determine the number of Hamas militants among them.

Disputability of the Results

According to the study, the Hamas Ministry of Health had issues with accurately recording deaths due to medical raids and communication system problems during Israel's military campaign.

This led to a deterioration in the quality of data collection and the use of media as a source of information about fatalities.

As a result, official data on deaths in Gaza was significantly underestimated, raising doubts about the accuracy of these figures.

Israel's Commentary

An Israeli representative emphasized that Israel has always paid due attention to preventing civilian casualties and has actively taken measures to inform civilians about the possible need for evacuation.

Thus, the final results of the study published in The Lancet do not reflect the actual situation on the ground, the Israeli representative noted.