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Short answer
The claim that Israel admitted the Hamas Health Ministry death toll of 70,000 is false and stems from an anonymous Haaretz report alleging the IDF had “accepted” the figure, which the IDF explicitly denied. An IDF spokesperson clarified that the claim does not reflect official data and that any verified numbers would be released only through official channels.
The 70,000 figure comes solely from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry and deliberately mixes civilians and combatants while presenting all casualties as civilians. Hamas later acknowledged that natural deaths were included and that some entries could not be verified.A report by the Henry Jackson Society found the data includes deaths from before the war and lacks basic details such as cause, location, date, or combatant status. Hamas’ own figures show men of combat age dying at roughly three times the rate of women, indicating substantial combatant losses. Claims that Israel confirmed Hamas casualty figures directly contradict official IDF statements and constitute disinformation.
Long answer
The claim that Israel admitted the Hamas Health Ministry death toll of 70,000 is false. The narrative originated after the left wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, based on an anonymous source, that the Israel Defense Forces had “accepted” the Gaza Health Ministry’s estimate. The IDF has outright denied that report. The official military spokesperson clarified that the published claim did not reflect any official IDF data and that Israel has not accepted the figure. Israel stated clearly that any verified casualty numbers would be released only through official and orderly channels.
The 70,000 number originates solely from the Hamas run Gaza Health Ministry. That figure deliberately mixes civilians and combatants while refusing to disclose the ratio. Hamas presents the total as if all casualties were civilians, which is factually misleading. Natural deaths were also added to the war fatality list, contradicting early claims that only combat deaths were counted. In 2025, a Palestinian health official admitted that many listed as war fatalities died of natural causes or did not die at all.
A report by the Henry Jackson Society found that Gaza Health Ministry data includes deaths from before the war and other serious inconsistencies. There is no identification of combatants, no cause of death, no place, and no date provided for individuals. There is also no attempt to distinguish deaths caused by the IDF from those caused by Hamas misfires, executions, or internal violence.
Hamas’ own published numbers show men of combat age are killed at roughly three times the rate of women. That alone implies around 22,000 excess male deaths, even before accounting for thousands of teen fighters Hamas counts as child casualties.
All available evidence points to manipulated statistics, not an Israeli admission. Israel never accepted this number, as stated by the IDF official spokesperson. Any claim that Israel confirmed the Hamas Health Ministry’s figures directly contradicts the IDF’s own public statements. Repeating those numbers while falsely attributing them to Israel is not journalism, it is the deliberate spread of disinformation.
