Israeli military reportedly acknowledges 70,000 killed in Gaza after previously casting doubt on health ministry’s count
By Oren Liebermann and Ibrahim Dahman
(CNN) — The Israeli military has acknowledged in a briefing to Israeli journalists that approximately 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the war in Gaza and that the figures from the health ministry in the enclave are largely accurate, local media reports.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted military officials Thursday as saying, “We estimate that about 70,000 Gazans were killed in the war, not including the missing.” Kan 11, the country’s public broadcaster, attributed the information to the Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT) and said there is now an effort to analyze how many of those killed were civilian or militant.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said a total of 71,667 Palestinians were killed in Gaza since the start of the war, as well as 171,343 injured. That number includes 492 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began in mid-October. The ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and militants, has routinely published lists of those killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Early in the war, Israel had cast doubt on the number of Palestinians the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had killed in its attacks, repeatedly accusing the health ministry, which it says is controlled by Hamas, of inflating the figures.
An IDF spokesperson would not confirm the information provided to Israeli journalists.
“The IDF clarifies that the details published do not reflect official IDF data,” the spokesperson said. “Any publication or report on this matter will be released through official and orderly channels.” The spokesperson did not answer if the IDF held data about the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza or if such information would ever be released.
“We don’t have any further comment beyond the information we already gave.”
Although the IDF has never publicly acknowledged the number killed in Gaza, senior officials have referenced the death toll in private conversations. Last August, in an audio recording released by Israel’s Channel 12 news, former IDF intel chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva said, “The fact that there are already 50,000 dead in Gaza is necessary and required for future generations.” It was unclear when Haliva was speaking, but the number killed in Gaza surpassed 50,000 in March 2025.
In September, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said, “There are 2.2 million people in Gaza. There are in Gaza today more than 10% who were killed or injured, more than 200,000. This is not a gentle war.” The number closely aligned with the casualty figures from the health ministry at the time, which said that Israeli forces had killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians and injured more than 164,000.
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