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22 August 2025

Israeli Military Data Reveals Stark Civilian Toll In Gaza

A joint investigation finds most Palestinians killed in Gaza are civilians, sparking fierce debate as Israel disputes the figures and global scrutiny intensifies.

In a war that has drawn intense international scrutiny, a new controversy has erupted over the true scale of civilian casualties in Gaza, as Israeli military data and independent investigations yield starkly different accounts. According to a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, figures from a classified Israeli army database suggest that five out of every six Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 2023 have been civilians. This finding, based on Israeli military intelligence, has ignited a fierce debate over the conduct of the war and the accuracy of official casualty reporting.

The investigation, which analyzed data up to May 2025, revealed that of the 53,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza by that time, only about 8,900 were identified by name as fighters in the Israeli military’s own records. This means that just 17 percent of those killed were classified as combatants, leaving a staggering 83 percent as civilians. The ratio, described by experts as "extremely high for modern warfare," has raised alarms among humanitarian organizations and conflict researchers alike.

Therese Pettersson, a researcher at the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), which tracks civilian casualties globally, told The Guardian, "That proportion of civilians among those killed would be unusually high, particularly as it has been going on for such a long time." She added, "If you single out a particular city or battle in another conflict, you could find similar rates, but very rarely overall." According to UCDP, only the Srebrenica massacre, the Rwandan genocide, and the Russian siege of Mariupol in 2022 have seen higher proportions of civilian casualties since 1989.

The Israeli military, when approached by +972 Magazine and Local Call, did not dispute the existence of the database or the specific figures regarding Hamas and Islamic Jihad deaths. However, when The Guardian requested comment, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded with a carefully worded statement. The IDF asserted, "The figures presented in the article are incorrect and do not reflect the data available in the IDF’s systems." The statement, however, did not specify which data was being disputed or offer alternative numbers.

The IDF elaborated further, stating, "Throughout the war, continuous intelligence assessments are conducted regarding the number of terrorists eliminated in the Gaza Strip, based on BDA (bomb damage assessment) methodologies and cross-checking efforts from various sources. One of the sources of information cross-referenced is documents originating from terrorist organizations in the Strip." The military characterized the claims in the investigation as "not only false but also reflect[ing] a fundamental lack of military understanding." (The Times of Israel)

Despite this official pushback, the investigation’s findings have been echoed by multiple sources within Israeli intelligence and the military. One intelligence source, who accompanied Israeli forces on the ground in Gaza, told Local Call that, "people are promoted to the rank of terrorist after their death." The source went on to say, "If I had listened to the brigade, I would have come to the conclusion that we had killed 200 percent of Hamas operatives in the area," highlighting what he described as a tendency to inflate the number of enemy combatants killed.

Retired Israeli general Itzhak Brik, who previously advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the war and has since become one of his most vocal critics, also questioned the official figures. Brik told +972 Magazine, "There is absolutely no connection between the numbers that are announced and what is actually happening. It is just one big bluff." According to Brik, many serving Israeli soldiers are aware that politicians have exaggerated the death toll of Hamas fighters for political ends.

As of August 2025, the IDF claims it has killed over 22,000 terror operatives in Gaza, up from 20,000 reported in January. By contrast, Hamas authorities assert that the total death toll in Gaza has surpassed 62,000 since October 2023. The IDF maintains that the ratio of combatant to civilian deaths has remained relatively constant throughout the conflict, with two to three civilians killed for every dead Hamas operative. However, the newly surfaced data and independent analysis suggest the civilian toll may be even higher than official estimates.

The humanitarian consequences of the conflict have been devastating for Gaza’s population. The enclave remains under an Israeli-imposed blockade, with widespread reports of starvation and famine conditions. The destruction of infrastructure and homes has left hundreds of thousands displaced, and basic services have collapsed under the weight of ongoing violence.

The legal and political ramifications for Israel are mounting. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), further intensifying global scrutiny of its military campaign.

The debate over casualty figures is not merely academic—it strikes at the heart of international law and the ethics of modern warfare. Civilian protection is a cornerstone of the laws of armed conflict, and the high proportion of civilian deaths in Gaza has fueled calls for accountability and an immediate ceasefire. Critics argue that the Israeli government’s efforts to classify more of the dead as combatants, sometimes posthumously, only serve to obscure the true human cost of the war.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military stands by its conduct and assessment methods. In their August 21, 2025, statement, the IDF insisted, "The IDF is a professional military that operates according to operational methods accepted by many armies worldwide." They emphasized the use of advanced intelligence and bomb damage assessment tools to estimate combatant deaths and stressed that their casualty estimates are cross-checked with documents from enemy organizations.

Yet for many in Gaza and around the world, these assurances ring hollow. The joint investigation’s findings have been widely reported and cited by international media, human rights organizations, and diplomats. As the war grinds on, the question of who is dying—and why—remains at the center of a heated global debate.

With the humanitarian crisis deepening and legal challenges mounting, the accuracy of casualty reporting in Gaza has become a flashpoint in the broader struggle over truth, accountability, and the future of the region.