Israel Gaza: Checking Israel's claim to have killed 10,000 Hamas fighters - BBC News

BBC Verify examines the evidence on combatant deaths, as concern grows about the scale of civilian killing.

1 day agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hamas fighters on parade in Gaza in 2021By Merlyn Thomas, Jake Horton & Benedict GarmanBBC VerifyIsrael faces growing concern about the number of civilian deaths, after at least 30,000 Palestinians were reported killed in Gaza - as well as pressure to show it is eliminating Hamas as it vowed after 7 October. BBC Verify examines Israel's claims about how many of those killed were combatants.

The Israeli military says it has killed more than 10,000 fighters in its air strikes and ground operations in response to the Hamas attack which killed about 1,200 people.

But there are concerns about whether it is able to separate fighters from ordinary civilians. President Joe Biden said in December that Israel had the support of the world as well as the US, but "they're starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have consistently defended their tactics, stressing that they are trying to be precise in their targeting of Hamas fighters and infrastructure, while seeking to minimise civilian deaths.

Hamas does not provide any figures for its military fatalities. The Reuters news agency reported that an official had admitted 6,000 fighters had been killed, but Hamas denied this figure to the BBC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68387864

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