Snapshot 5:Thu, Jan 29, 2026 8:13:10 PM GMT last edited by Brian

IDF Accepts Gaza Death Toll of 71,000 Palestinians

Published 5 days ago

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Above: The Red Cross delivers bodies to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza on Jan. 29, 2026. Image credit: Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Spin

Israel's belated acceptance of Gaza's death toll only confirms what was always true: the actual number of dead Palestinians is far higher when accounting for those buried under rubble, starved or killed by hospital destruction. The admission comes now because Israel successfully sowed doubt during the genocide itself, allowing Western media to downplay the slaughter while it mattered most. This acknowledgment reveals that mass Palestinian death has been normalized as an acceptable benchmark for military operations.

Jonathan Cook on X Middle East Eye

The IDF's acknowledgment that Gaza's death toll is around 70,000 demonstrates transparency while maintaining that the breakdown between combatants and civilians remains under review. Israel consistently achieved a combatant-to-civilian ratio of two to three civilians per terrorist killed, far lower than typical urban warfare, while Hamas manipulated starvation statistics and used civilians as human shields. No famine occurred in Gaza despite Hamas propaganda, as 112,000 aid trucks entered the strip throughout the conflict.

Israel Hayom The Times of Israel

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 10% chance that the Gaza war will end and significant progress be made towards a two-state solution before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.