Leaked Israeli intelligence confirms one of many highest civilian tolls in fashionable conflicts.
A labeled Israeli navy database exhibits the overwhelming majority of Palestinians killed in Gaza are civilians, in line with a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Journal, and Native Name.
Figures reviewed by the retailers revealed on Thursday point out that, as of Might 2025 – 19 months into Israel’s struggle on Gaza – Israeli navy intelligence had listed 8,900 fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as confirmed or “most likely” useless.
Over the identical interval, Gaza’s well being authorities recorded at the least 53,000 deaths from Israeli assaults, which means that named fighters accounted for simply 17 p.c of these killed, with civilians at about about 83 p.c of the whole dying toll.
Battle researchers say that ratio is sort of unparalleled in fashionable warfare. Solely the Rwandan genocide, the 1995 Srebrenica bloodbath, and Russia’s 2022 siege of Mariupol recorded a better civilian dying price, the authors famous.
Rights teams and genocide students argue the findings additional help claims that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, pointing to mass civilian deaths alongside deliberate hunger.
When requested to remark by The Guardian, +972 Journal, and Native Name, the Israeli navy didn’t deny the existence of the intelligence database or the listed figures for Hamas and PIJ casualties.
As an alternative, a spokesperson mentioned “figures introduced within the article are incorrect”, however didn’t make clear which numbers had been disputed. The assertion additionally claimed the info does “not replicate the info obtainable within the [Israeli military’s] programs”, with out explaining what these programs contained.
Israeli politicians and navy leaders have lengthy inflated fighter dying tolls, at instances claiming as many as 20,000 fighters killed or insisting on a civilian-to-combatant ratio of 1:1 – figures that the report notes they don’t imagine in non-public.
In the meantime, Israeli rhetoric has more and more mirrored genocidal language.
In leaked audio recordings aired on Israel’s Channel 12, Aharon Haliva, the previous head of navy intelligence, claimed, “The truth that there are already 50,000 useless in Gaza is important and required for future generations.”
He went additional, saying: “For every [victim] on 7 October, 50 Palestinians must die … There’s no alternative, they want a Nakba now and again to really feel the results.” The Nakba, or “disaster”, refers back to the killing and ethnic cleaning of Palestinians in 1948 to make manner for the creation of Israel.
By March, Gaza’s dying toll had reached 50,000; it has since risen to past 62,000, in line with the enclave’s well being ministry. The overall variety of wounded has now exceeded 157,000.
The Worldwide Felony Courtroom has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of struggle crimes and crimes towards humanity dedicated between October 2023 and Might 2024.
