Israeli military officials told journalists they estimate roughly 70,000 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza war, broadly aligning with Gaza’s health ministry tally of 71,667 deaths and 171,343 injured. The IDF declined to confirm the numbers, saying any official release would come through proper channels. Senior Israeli figures have privately referenced similarly high totals. Despite a fragile ceasefire, recent strikes reportedly killed 12 people, including six children.
Israeli Military Briefing Estimated About 70,000 Gaza Deaths, Largely Echoing Local Health Ministry Count
A mourner carries the body of a child during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed in overnight Israeli strikes outside the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, on October 29, 2025. - Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters
Israeli military officials told reporters in a briefing that they estimate roughly 70,000 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza war, and that the casualty figures published by Gaza’s health ministry are largely accurate, local outlets reported.
Yedioth Ahronoth quoted military sources as saying, “We estimate that about 70,000 Gazans were killed in the war, not including the missing.” The public broadcaster Kan 11 attributed the figure to the Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT) and said authorities are working to analyze how many of those killed were civilians and how many were militants.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported a total of 71,667 deaths and 171,343 injured in Gaza since the start of the conflict. That tally includes 492 people killed in Israeli strikes after the mid-October ceasefire. The ministry’s lists do not distinguish between civilians and fighters and have been widely cited throughout the war.
Early in the fighting Israeli officials publicly questioned the health ministry’s figures, accusing the ministry — which Israel says is controlled by Hamas — of inflating numbers. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson declined to confirm the new figure provided to journalists, saying:
“The IDF clarifies that the details published do not reflect official IDF data. Any publication or report on this matter will be released through official and orderly channels.” The spokesperson did not say whether the IDF maintains its own casualty records or whether it would ever publish them.
Although the IDF has not released an official overall death toll, senior Israeli officials have privately referenced high casualty numbers. An audio clip released last August by Channel 12 included former IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva saying, “The fact that there are already 50,000 dead in Gaza is necessary and required for future generations.” It was not clear when Haliva made the remark; Gaza’s death toll passed 50,000 in March 2025.
In September, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said: “There are 2.2 million people in Gaza. There are in Gaza today more than 10% who were killed or injured, more than 200,000. This is not a gentle war.” That assessment closely matched the health ministry’s figures at that time.
Despite the shaky ceasefire, Gaza health authorities reported that Israeli strikes on Saturday killed 12 people, including six children. Dr. Munir al-Barsh, director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, told CNN the casualties occurred in Gaza City and Khan Younis. Gaza Civil Defense said the victims included seven members of a single displaced family sheltering in a tent in the Asda area north of Khan Younis — five children and an elderly person among them.
CNN has contacted the IDF for comment. The Israeli military says it continues to carry out strikes it describes as responses to breaches of the ceasefire by Hamas.
What Remains Unclear
Key questions remain about the composition of the reported deaths (civilian versus militant), the status of the missing, and whether the IDF will ever publish its own consolidated casualty data. Independent verification of casualty figures in active conflict zones is difficult and subject to differing methodologies and access restrictions.
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