The US Secretary of Defense was asked in Congress today about the number of women and children killed by Israel since October 7.
“It's over 25,000,” Lloyd Austin said.
The Pentagon later added: “We cannot independently verify casualty numbers in Gaza.”
But his number is actually slightly higher than the number of women and children reported by officials in Gaza.
The fact that the US Secretary of Defense said this is of great importance.
Middle East Latest: US says 'too many Palestinians died today'
Intentionally or unintentionally, it increases pressure on Israel as ceasefire talks continue and stop repeatedly.
throughout This conflictThe US administration questioned the accuracy of the numbers issued from Gaza.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Photo: AP
In line with the Israelis and many Western governments, they said it was a mistake to trust the numbers from the Gaza Ministry of Health because they are run by Hamas.
At times, there were moments of deviation from this assertion, with different officials from different Western countries sometimes saying the numbers might be accurate.
But the most important point is that the numbers were wrong and exaggerated.
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Israeli soldiers participate in urban warfare training near the border with Gaza. Photo: Reuters
Latest Hamas figures from the Ministry of Health He says about 30,000 people died.
Hamas does not distribute the number of deaths between combatants and non-combatants.
The Ministry of Health's latest figures, as of February 28, indicate that 12,300 children and 8,400 women have been killed, amounting to 20,700.
According to Mr. Austin's number of over 25,000, and assuming the total known dead to be about 30,000, that leaves 5,000 men dead.
It is believed that Hamas had about 30,000 fighters before this war.
So all this tells us two things.
First, Israel is far from achieving its stated goal of complete destruction agitation.
Second, even if you conclude that all men are combatants – an absurd conclusion but one that has been drawn at some points in this conflict – more than 80% of the dead are civilians.
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US: Death toll 'extremely high'
All of this in a war sparked by the Hamas attack last October, pursued by Israel and enabled by America.
I asked the State Department spokesperson how this could be viewed as anything other than a complete disaster and a complete failure of American leadership.
Matt Miller avoided the question and reiterated the US government's position that the number of civilians killed was “very high.”
