A prominent American official testified before Congress regarding the death toll in Gaza as a result of the violent Israeli raids on the Strip, which have been ongoing for more than a month.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf said on Wednesday that the death toll due to the Israeli attacks “may be much higher than announced,” according to what was confirmed by the American newspaper “The New York Times.”
She explained in her testimony before the House Foreign Relations Committee: “The number of Palestinian deaths, although difficult to accurately assess, was very high. Frankly, it could be higher than what is announced.”
"We won't know until the guns fall silent," Liv continued.
The American official's statements contradict previous assessments by American and Israeli officials, including President Joe Biden himself, who said that the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, "inflates the numbers of casualties to gain international sympathy and create political pressure on Israel."
Last October 25, Biden told reporters: “I have no idea that the Palestinians are telling the truth about the death toll in Gaza.”
While the US President said that he was "certain that innocent people were killed," he added: "I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians announce."
In the latest update on the death toll in Gaza from Israeli raids, the Ministry of Health in the Strip said on Thursday that it was approaching 11,000.
The United Nations, human rights organizations, and international relief organizations relied on the numbers of the Ministry of Health in Gaza in the current conflict, as well as in previous wars.
Last October, Human Rights Watch, which had conducted its own investigations into previous Israeli air strikes on Gaza, said that its death toll was consistent with the numbers of the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
A spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also said that the agency's estimates of casualties closely match those of the Ministry of Health in Gaza in previous conflicts.
The ministry's statistics were considered highly credible, to the point that the US State Department cited them in previous conflicts, in a report issued this year.
Comments