An analysis of Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry data challenges claims of widespread famine and disproportionate civilian casualties during the war, citing population growth and mortality figures that its authors said contradicted widely circulated assessments.
The findings, published by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) on Oct. 27, were highlighted by The Washington Free Beacon on Wednesday.
The figures indicated natural population growth of approximately 1.2% in 2025, with 50,227 births and 24,650 registered deaths, including 5,780 classified as nonviolent. AIJAC argued that the mortality figures contradicted the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s August 2025 famine assessment, which also relied on malnutrition and food insecurity data.
Of the 24,650 recorded deaths, 18,085, or 73.4%, were male, compared with 6,565 female deaths, or 26.6%. AIJAC said the figures challenged widely circulated claims that women and children accounted for 70% of casualties, although the breakdown did not establish how many of those killed were combatants.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry amplified the findings, saying that Hamas’s figures were “not a reliable source.” Israeli Ambassador to the European Union Avi Nir-Feldklein also denounced accusations against Israel, writing, “The Genocide lie. The Apartheid lie.” He accused Israel’s critics of seeking to demonize the Jewish state and obscure Hamas’s crimes.
The figures used by media to shape the global debate over Gaza have frequently come from Hamas’s own Ministry of Health.
A new analysis examines population growth and mortality and finds that the data tell a very different story from the one presented to the world. Hamas’s…
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