On May 6, Ocha stated that over 14,500 children had been killed since Israel’s war against Hamas began on October 7. On May 8, the number had suddenly been adjusted down to around half as many: 7,797 children.
On May 6, it was also stated that over 9,500 women had had to take their own lives since the outbreak of war. Two days later, the same figure on Ocha’s site was changed to 4,959.
However, the total death toll has not been significantly revised, according to The Jerusalem Post which was first with the news. The difference is that the single largest group now consists of men.
Ocha breaks down the killed into four different groups: Men 40 percent, children 32 percent, women 20 percent and “elderly”, 8 percent.
Cannot be controlled
The figures for dead and wounded in the war come from Gaza authorities controlled by the extremist movement Hamas. Due to the war, no outside, independent organizations have been able to verify the data on their own, but the figures have generally been considered reliable and have been reported back by, among others, Ocha, which is the UN’s humanitarian aid organization.
We stick to the health authorities that are on site and do not have the opportunity to make compilations ourselves, says Ocha’s spokesperson Jens Lærke to Danish TV2.
Ocha has not published any explanation for the discrepancy. Lærke states that the difference is due to the fact that the figures previously came from the press authority in Gaza, but are now instead based on the health authorities, which after a break have recently started delivering statistics again.
We have chosen to use the best available figures at the relevant times. But it naturally raises some questions, says Lærke.
“Shot himself in the foot”
Analysts predict that Ocha’s adjustment will come under scrutiny and criticism from Israel, which already has a strained relationship with the United Nations. Israel is also likely to use the revision to support the claim that its forces are doing what they can to avoid civilian deaths.
PR-wise, Hamas has shot themselves in the foot, says TV2’s Israel correspondent Benjamin Kürstein.
The ongoing war in Gaza began after the terror-labeled Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, when around 1,200 people were killed. Since then, Israel has attacked Gaza from the ground and air almost daily. According to Hamas-controlled authority figures, nearly 35,000 Palestinians have been killed.
More than 10,000 people have been reported missing, according to Ocha.