Hamas claims that Gaza death toll reaches 12,300

The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry claims that the death toll in the strip has reached 12,300 since hostilities started on October 7.

The Hamas government claims that more than 5,000 children are among the dead, alongside 3,300 women, with 30,000 more people wounded. Its health ministry has previously said it can no longer give exact tolls as intense fighting has prevented bodies from being recovered.

The figures released by the Hamas terror group cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and terrorists, and also do not differentiate between those killed by Israeli airstrikes and those killed in failed Palestinian rocket launches. Hamas has been accused of inflating the figures and of designating gunmen in their late teens as children.