For first time Israeli military officials acknowledge Gaza death toll exceeds 71,000 since October 2
Deir Al-Balah: After more than two years of war in Gaza, senior officials of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have, for the first time, acknowledged that over 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began on October 7, 2023, aligning with figures long reported by Gaza’s health authorities.
Israeli military sources told newspapers Haaretz and The Times of Israel that the overall death toll cited by the Gaza Health Ministry was broadly accurate, though they said the army has been unable to determine how many of those killed were combatants and how many were civilians who died as a direct result of hostilities. This marks a notable shift from earlier Israeli statements that repeatedly questioned the credibility of Gaza’s casualty data, describing it as unreliable or misleading.
The officials also said the figure does not account for Palestinians who remain missing and are feared buried under rubble, nor those who may have died due to starvation and lack of medical care amid the prolonged siege. In earlier assessments, the IDF had claimed that civilian deaths numbered two to three for every militant killed.
Following the publication of these reports, an Israeli military spokesperson sought to distance the institution from the disclosures, stating that the information published did not reflect official IDF data and that any authoritative figures would be released only through formal channels.
International agencies, including the United Nations, have consistently relied on Gaza Health Ministry data, describing its casualty recording system as credible despite the conditions of war. According to the ministry, at least 71,667 Palestinians have been killed since Israel’s military offensive began in 2023. Several independent studies and humanitarian groups have suggested that the true toll could be estimated well beyond 100,000.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
