Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest in the enclave, receives data from every hospital in the strip. Hospital administrators say they keep records of every injured person who occupies a bed and every body that arrives at a morgue. The ministry also collects from other sources including the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The health ministry did not report how the Palestinians were killed, whether from Israeli airstrikes and artillery barrages or errant Palestinian rocket fire. It described all the casualties as victims of “Israeli aggression”. The ministry also does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Throughout the four wars and numerous clashes between Israel and Hamas, UN agencies have cited the death toll of the Hamas-run health ministry in regular reports. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Palestinian Red Crescent also use the numbers.
After the war, the UN humanitarian office published the final death toll based on its own research on medical records. The UN figures largely agree with Gaza’s health ministry, with minor discrepancies.
For more on Gaza health ministry tolls, click here.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
