UK think tank says Hamas death toll appears to include Gazans who died of natural causes

The Hamas-run health ministry’s death toll for the Gaza war appears to include some 5,000 Palestinians who in fact died of natural causes, including cancer patients who later appeared on a list of those receiving continued medical care, according to a new report by a British think tank.

The Henry Jackson Society also found that most of the reported fatalities were men between the ages of 15-45, with many of their ages’ lowered by a year in an apparent effort to make it seem that more minors are being killed, the Telegraph said in a report on the research.

The think tank says the toll also includes Gazans killed by terrorists’ errant rocket or while food aid is being distributed, including in the latter case of a 17-year-old who was reportedly shot dead by Hamas last December while waiting to get food for his family.