As reported by Reuters, Israeli media have cited senior military officials saying the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) now accept that roughly 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war that began after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. According to Reuters, these comments were relayed in background briefings to Israeli outlets including Ynet, which quoted an unnamed official saying the army believes around 70,000 Gazans have died, not counting those listed as missing. Reuters notes that this marks a significant shift from Israel’s longstanding public skepticism over casualty figures released by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
According to Reuters, the Gaza health ministry says more than 71,000 people have been killed, and it routinely publishes the names and ages of the dead, while acknowledging that thousands more are believed to remain under the rubble. The ministry does not distinguish systematically between civilians and combatants, but has said a large proportion of those killed are women and children. Reuters reports that Israel has argued for much of the war that the ministry’s figures could not be trusted because it is controlled by Hamas, which Israel, the United States and European Union designate as a terrorist organization.
Reuters states that in the latest briefings, Israeli officials said the military is in the process of attempting to differentiate between fighters and civilians within the overall Gaza death toll. Ynet quoted one official as saying, “We believe that roughly 70,000 Gazans have perished during the conflict, excluding those reported missing,” and added that the army is working to classify how many of those killed were “terrorists and those uninvolved.” According to Reuters, after these media reports, the IDF said in a formal response that the numbers cited “do not represent the official data of the Israel Defence Forces” and stressed that any authoritative figures would be published only through official channels.
Reuters reports that the war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 assault by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The same reporting notes that more than 470 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the war began.
How have officials and observers reacted?
According to Reuters, the United Nations has regarded the Gaza health ministry’s casualty reporting as broadly credible throughout the conflict. U.N. officials have previously pointed to the ministry’s long record of providing data used by international agencies, even as Israel questioned its figures.
As reported by the Times of Israel, a senior Israeli military official speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity said the army now believes the Hamas-run ministry’s overall death count is “largely accurate,” estimating about 70,000 Gazans killed during more than two years of war. The Times of Israel notes that the ministry’s current tally is 71,667 deaths, including more than 450 people killed since a ceasefire agreement brokered in October 2025.
According to NDTV’s reporting on the same briefings, this is the first time Israel has effectively acknowledged the overall fatality data published by Gaza’s health authorities since the start of the war. NDTV reports that Israeli officials had previously rejected the figures as inflated or manipulated, while now accepting that more than 70,000 Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023.
Supporting details and wider background
Reuters notes that Gaza’s health ministry has, during the conflict, regularly issued detailed casualty lists including names and ID numbers in an effort to counter claims that its totals were exaggerated. The ministry has also said that many bodies remain unrecovered or unregistered due to the scale of destruction and ongoing hostilities.
According to coverage by the Times of Israel, the Israeli security official said that the military’s internal estimate of around 70,000 deaths aligns “in general terms” with the Hamas-run ministry’s total, though the IDF is focused on determining how many of those killed were fighters. The same report notes that the army has not publicly released its own full breakdown of casualties by status, age or gender.
NDTV reports that Hamas has claimed an additional roughly 10,000 people may still be trapped under the rubble, a figure that is not included in the officially recognized death toll but has been cited by Palestinian officials. NDTV also notes that the Gaza tally includes people killed directly by Israeli bombardment as well as those who later died from their wounds.
What are the implications and what comes next?
According to Reuters, Israel’s de facto acceptance of Gaza’s overall death toll could have significant implications for international debates over the conduct of the war, including legal and diplomatic scrutiny. Rights groups and U.N. bodies have repeatedly cited the high civilian death toll in calls for investigations into potential violations of international humanitarian law.
The Times of Israel reports that Israeli officials have indicated they will continue efforts to refine their internal estimates by distinguishing between militants and civilians, a process likely to shape future public statements and legal defenses. NDTV notes that the updated acknowledgment of over 70,000 Palestinian deaths may influence ongoing discussions at international forums and courts, where casualty figures form a key part of arguments about proportionality and the protection of civilians.
According to Reuters, the IDF has emphasized that any official figures it releases will be issued through formal, systematic channels, suggesting there may be additional data or clarification in the future. Meanwhile, Gaza’s health authorities continue to update their totals as more bodies are recovered and deaths from injuries and humanitarian conditions are recorded.
The latest reporting indicates that Israeli military officials now broadly accept that around 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, bringing their internal assessment closer to the Gaza health ministry’s figures while still contesting elements such as the proportion of combatants. The shift underscores the scale of destruction and loss of life in the enclave since October 7, 2023, and is likely to remain central to international scrutiny of the war and its aftermath.
