Israel’s military has acknowledged that around 70,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to a report by Haaretz

Israel’s military has acknowledged that approximately 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the war in Gaza, after previously questioning casualty figures released by the enclave’s health authorities, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday, citing senior military officials.

The United Nations has long regarded Gaza health ministry death tolls as credible, despite Israel’s objections that the ministry is run by Hamas and therefore unreliable. The health ministry regularly publishes the names and ages of those it records as killed and now puts the death toll at more than 71,000, including over 480 people killed in Israeli attacks since a US-brokered ceasefire began in October.

The ministry has also said that many thousands remain buried under the rubble of Gaza’s devastated cities. While it does not differentiate between civilians and fighters, it has identified most of the dead as women or children.

Israeli outlets, including Ynet, reported after a briefing with senior military officials on Thursday that the army had arrived at a similar estimate. “In our assessment, around 70,000 Gazans were killed during the war, not including missing persons,” Ynet quoted one official as saying. The official added that efforts were ongoing to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

Responding to the reports, the Israeli military said the published details did not reflect official Israel Defense Forces data and stressed that any formal information would be released through official channels.

The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. More than 470 Israeli soldiers have been killed during the conflict.