US officials believe the death toll in Gaza may well be even higher than the more than 10,000 reported by the Strip’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf told a US House panel yesterday.
Israeli officials, US President Joe Biden and others have challenged the ministry’s figures — which topped more than 10,800 killed in Gaza as of today — as exaggerated.
“We think they’re very high, frankly, and it could be that they’re even higher than are being cited,” she says, later adding this is “very possible.”
Leaf says US officials draw on “sourcing from a variety of folks who are on the ground,” but gives no other details of the US assessment.
Leaf notes that Hamas health officials do not separate the numbers of civilians and fighters killed, and says it is difficult to know the true number of deaths as long as the fighting continues.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
